


Sanders Sides Fic Compliation

by emoprincey



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Creativitwins, Familial Logince - Freeform, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Intrulogical, M/M, Prinxiety - Freeform, Singer Roman, Skipping School, analogical - Freeform, band au, bassist deceit, deceit is darwin, demus - Freeform, drummer patton, dukeceit, keyboarder logan, logicality - Freeform, remile - Freeform, royality, sleepxiety, tw abuse, tw blood, tw death, tw murder, tw panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2019-11-12 17:56:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 21,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18015593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emoprincey/pseuds/emoprincey
Summary: The various bullet-point fics I've posted on Tumblr, all collected into one place for your enjoyment.I apologise for the pain I put Virgil through, it just kinda happens.





	1. Ghost/Supernatural AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman is going crazy because he sees a ghosty boy and then saves him from death.

  * Roman, 19, gets a scholarship to a prestigious art University across the country from his home town
  * He moves into an old apartment block because it was cheap and close to campus.
  * All he has when he arrives is a blow-up mattress and a few suitcases of clothes and knick-knacks because he’s a poor college student.
  * He’s about a week into the first semester when he stumbles home from a late night lecture and meets a person in the hall. 
  * He’s short, only coming up to Roman’s shoulder, and is dressed in tattered clothes that are three sizes too small. His hair is shoulder length and messy and his skin is sickly pale.
  * Roman asks if he’s okay but the boy walks off down the hall. 
  * Roman shrugs it off as sleep deprivation and flops onto his mattress and sleeps for twelve hours. 
  * He runs into the boy every Friday night after that. 


  * One night, ironically Friday the 13th, he sees the boy sitting on the stairs crying. 
  * “are you okay man?” 
  * The boy looks up, black tears streaming down his pale face and hands shaking fiercely.
  * “I don’t know where I am.” 
  * The boy vanishes and Roman screams and a neighbour pops their head out to shush him. 
  * _was it a ghost? am I going insane?_
  * Roman asks around at his uni about people living in the apartment block. 
  * No one knows anything about a boy like he described.
  * Until one day, he’s sitting outside the apartment block and a boy sits next to him. 
  * He's the same height as Roman, maybe even a bit taller, with messy red curls and thick round glasses. 
  * He doesn’t say anything for a few moments, just picking at the grass by his legs. 
  * “Virgil went missing ten years ago.” 
  * Roman looks up in shock, the boy’s eyes filled with tears as he stares out across the garden.
  * “we were friends. he lived next door to me and we used to play together all the time. 
  * “one day, we were playing in the stairs. my mum called me from our door so I turned around to answer her. when I looked back, Virgil was gone. 
  * “I tried to find him, we were gonna have cookies and watch a movie. I went down to the lobby and called for him on every floor. I couldn’t find him so I thought maybe he’d gone up while I was busy. 
  * “I never saw him again.” 
  * “I’m so sorry.” 
  * Patton and Roman become friends, Roman tells him about the times he thought he saw Virgil in the hall. 
  * Patton tells him he sometimes hears Virgil calling for help but he can never find where the voice is coming from. 
  * Roman starts to ask around more, talking to the staff at the apartment block and some of the residents from when Virgil was there. 
  * He learns that Virgil was friends with a lot of families in the building. 
  * one of them was a boy named Logan and his dad Darian. 
  * everyone in the building knew Darian was a bit on the weird side, and he wasn’t the kindest towards his son. 
  * Roman tracks down Logan, which is a struggle as finals approach, but he finds him living across the city and gets in contact to meet up with him. 
  * they meet up while Roman’s on study leave in a cafe near to Logan’s house
  * “I know it’s in poor taste, but I need to know about Virgil.” 
  * “it is okay. I understand the curiosity.” 
  * they talk for  _hours_
  * until Logan lets slip something Roman had hoped to never hear. 
  * “my father had a history of… unsavoury behaviour… with minors.” 
  * Roman doesn’t want to ask, but Logan knows he has to tell him. 
  * they go to Logan’s place so they can talk privately. 
  * “years after Virgil disappeared, my father was arrested for an incident with a barely legal teen. it was brought to light that before I was born, he had many incurrences of this but was never charged.
  * “he was finally put in prison nearly a month ago when I came out about the assaults he had committed on me and those that I had witnessed.
  * “I’ve always wondered if maybe he had something to do with Virgil’s disappearance, but I could never prove it.”
  * “If he did, what do you think he did?” 
  * “He was sick, and twisted man, Roman. I would not be surprised if Virgil was locked up in the basement of the apartment block for all these years.” 
  * Roman leaves not long after that, having given Logan his number because they actually got on well and he doesn’t want to let this chance for friendship go. 
  * That night, Roman’s laying in bed, he actually has a bed now and he lives out of a dresser instead of a suitcase when he thinks he hears crying from his living room. 
  * He gets up and flicks on the lights as he goes. 
  * the living room light flickers and refuses to turn on and when Roman actually looks around the room, Virgil stands facing the door. 
  * Roman goes to ask if he’s okay when he runs towards the front door and disappears through the wood. 
  * Roman follows him, calling out the whole time. 
  * The apparition runs down the stairs and Roman follows quickly, hands shaking as he realises where they're heading. 
  * the basement
  * Virgil vanishes into the night and Roman fumbles for his phone, which he managed to grab just in case, and turns on a torch. 
  * the place isn’t in great shape, and there are lots of doors and hallways. 
  * Roman takes a breath and decides ‘fuck it’. 
  * he starts exploring, narrating to himself “Buzzfeed Unsolved’ style. 
  * he gets to the end of the hall and finds a desk with old papers on it, just drawings and random notes like shopping lists. 
  * as Roman is looking at the drawings, he notices a weird shape behind the desk. 
  * on a whim, he moves it out from the wall and finds a door with a lock above the handle and a slidey slot on teh ground. 
  * he kinda freaks out and dials Logan’s number only to hang up when he realises it’s 2 am and he's in the apartment block basement where there is very little service anyways. 
  * “Ya know what might as fucking well. I’ve been seeing a ghost for the last year or so, I’m already at the very bottom of the basement, what else could happen?” 
  * He breaks the lock with a paperweight from the desk and pulls it open. 
  * The first thing he notices is a bad smell, like a homeless man that hadn’t showered for a decade, had eaten a rotting racoon and got really sick all over himself and just left those bad clothes on.
  * the next thing he notices is the sound of ragged breaths and whimpering. 
  * He lifts his torch and the body of a boy about Roman’s age comes into view. 
  * He’s curled away from him, whimpering “no, please don’t” and wincing from the light. 
  * Roman points the light away from him and calmly kneels at the door, his heart racing faster than ever. 
  * “Virgil?” he asks slowly, the boy whimpering louder as he curls up tighter around a ragged old toy bunny
  * “Virgil, my name is Roman. I’m not here to hurt you.” 
  * the boy looks up, eyes squinted from the light. 
  * “Oh, sweetie. I’m gonna get you help okay.” 
  * Roman stands and lifts his phone, successfully getting a bar of reception and dialling Patton. 
  * “Patton, I can’t explain but I need you to call an ambulance and tell them to park as close to the doors as possible. Can you run up to my room and get a change of clothes and my sunglasses as well? I’ll meet you outside shortly.” 
  * He rambles quickly, watching the reception flicker out before hanging up and stuffing the phone into the tight pocket of his sleep shirt. 
  * “Virgil, you’ve been down here a long time, but my friend is going to help us.”
  * “I need you to trust me. I’m not like the man that did this to you, I promise on my future as an artist.”
  * “I’m going to pick you up, it’s going to hurt, but I’m going to take you outside where there will be people that can help you. Is that okay?” 
  * Virgil doesn’t answer, eyes blown wide in the light and Roman takes a small squeak as a yes. 
  * He reaches out, apologising as Virgil flinches away and almost screams at his touch. 
  * he’s so light, Roman can only imagine how underweight he is.
  * he grasps the bunny tighter and closes his eyes as Roman brings him closer to him
  * With a burst of heroic energy, Roman races out of the basement, trying his hardest to keep his arms steady so he doesn’t bounce the tiny boy too much
  * he gets to the doors and the ambulance is outside with it’s flashing lights and several of the apartments residents are crowded around trying to find out what’s happening. 
  * “Close your eyes, Virgil.” 
  * Virgil tucks his head against Roman’s chest and he holds back a gag at the smell but pushes forward. 
  * he reaches the ambulance and shouts for help.
  * Patton catches up and follows him to the ambulance, not saying anything as he looks at his old friend in his new friend's arms
  * Roman puts Virgil on a stretcher and Patton hands him the bag of stuff. 
  * the paramedics are floored but let Roman come with them as they take Virgil to the hospital. 
  * “Patton, call Logan, meet us there,” Roman instructs as he climbs up next to the boy, sitting on the bench and sliding his sunglasses onto Virgil’s face.
  * it takes only a few minutes to get to the hospital and Virgil is rushed off, Roman tells them all he knows and give the nurses the bag of clothes, telling them they can put him in something more comfortable when he’s stable. 
  * Roman sits in the waiting room for hours until Patton and Logan arrive and then they sit together for longer. 
  * when the nurses come out, they say Virgil is seriously malnourished and dehydrated. 
  * He also has various signs of assault and infections that were never properly dealt with. 
  * Roman takes it upon himself to call Virgil’s parents, he found their number in a phone book but didn’t want to bother them with his questions. 
  * He calls and stammers his name and tells them what happened. 
  * Virgil’s mother cries and says she’ll be there as soon as possible. 
  * The boys are allowed to go see Virgil, they awkwardly enter to find him in Roman’s clothes, curled up in a ball with various wires and things attached to him and that ragged old bunny clutched tight to his chest. 
  * “Virgil?” Roman says first, stepping forward and taking the seat next to Virgil’s head, a hand rested on the bed next to his. 
  * “These are my friends. You might recognise them.” he waves the boy’s over, both in shock of seeing the friend they lost a decade ago. 
  * “this is Patton, he’s the kindest person you’ll ever meet.” 
  * Patton squeaks out a small hi and sits next to Roman. 
  * “And this is Logan. he’s pretty cool too, a bit of a nerd but I’ve only known him for like a week so…”
  * “Hello, Virgil.” 
  * they sit with him for an hour, quietly chatting and keeping him company though he never speaks. 
  * His parents turn up and Roman stands to greet them.
  * the woman is short with greying hair and a little cane, his father much the same but thinner. 
  * It's a teary reunion but Virgil still doesn’t speak. he flinches at the touch and nods a little but otherwise nothing. 
  * Patton and Logan sneak out when Roman tells them what he knows, and roman follows them shortly after, leaving teh family with his number if they need anything. 
  * as Roman leaves the room, he sees the apparition of Virgil in front of him, eyes full of tears and a smile on his face. 
  * “you saved me.” 
  * he launches forward and wraps his ghost arms around Romans waist, crying loudly. 
  * Roman freezes, none of the nurses appear to see the boy attached to him so he awkwardly plays it off by scratching the back of his head and resting a hand on the boy’s back like he’s just standing there chilled out. 
  * thank you.” ghost V pulls away, wipes his tears and smiles before fading away, much more calmly than when he first disappeared. 
  * Roman smiles and finds the other boys and they go home. 
  * the next week was spent with the boys discussing what happened
  * they get through finals okay and they’re all chilling at Roman’s’ house when a knock sounds at the door.
  * Roman goes to answer it and Virgil is there with the bag of clothes and a shy look in his eyes. 
  * “My parents told me what happened. thank you.” 
  * he hands over the bag and a box of chocolates and awkwardly turns to walk away
  * “do you, maybe, wanna come in? we’re watching Disney.” 
  * Roman opens the door wider to show Patton and Logan laughing together on the couch.
  * he decides he might as well because what else will he do, he has no friends and no idea about society anymore. 
  * they become good friends, relationships blossom (you decide which) and it’s beautiful and Virgil gets used to being in sunlight again and Logan’s dad gets more years in prison because they found his DNA on Virgil's old clothes 
  * And they live happily ever after



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Virgil is a remnant which is like a ghost but is projected from a still living person who's suffering. Basically, his soul broke briefly and Roman saw it and found him, HOORAY.


	2. Song Of The Saviour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Um, Virgil is a sad boy because Remy is his husband and he's not doing great but then Prince Pretty-boy saves the day

  * Virgil and Remy are married
  * Virgil is a singer, kinda famous but only in America. Remy is a Barista at a cat cafe run by his college friend. 
  * They were best friends since middle school, and during their first year of college, Remy is diagnosed with cancer. 
  * They both drop out a month later.
  * They got married at 22 (Remy) and 24 (Virgil) because Remy doesn’t want to spend his life without Virgil and he’s living what he has to the fullest
  * Virgil’s manager, Patton, is kind and doesn’t make him do anything without Remy coming along
  * He knows it’s tough for both boys and holds his own husband, Logan, just that little bit tighter every night. 
  * They go bungy jumping and have s*x in a restaurant bathroom and eat caviar. 
  * Remy gets worse, the treatment isn’t working.
  * Virgil refuses to let Remy say ‘when’, only ‘if’. Neither really wants to admit that it’ll happen.
  * Virgil writes him a song and performs it on a talk show, ending in tears and falling asleep in his lover’s arms in the dressing room. 
  * Patton announces Virgil’s hiatus when Remy is given four months. 


  * They stay home most days, Remy’s too sick to go out much, and watch movies and eat popcorn. 
  * It’s only a month later when his lungs decide they don’t wanna work good no more. 
  * They’re at the cafe, having lunch when it happens. Remy starts gasping for air and Virgil shouts for someone to call an ambulance as he holds his husband and tries to help, tears streaming down his cheeks. 
  * Remy is admitted indefinitely and put on oxygen tubes. They speak funny and feel like he needs to sneeze but Virgil still thinks he’s cute.
  * A week later, Virgil’s singing to his husband when he holds up a hand. 
  * “Virge…I want you…to promise me… something” He’s out of breath and tired but he manages okay. 
  * “Anything, my love.” 
  * “When I go…”
  * “Don’t-”
  * “ _When_  I go…You gotta keep…living, okay?… You gotta live…like it’s your last day…Don’t let the…darkness win okay?… You can’t…give up because…I’m gone… Live because I can’t.”
  * “I will Remy. I promise.” 
  * “I love you… Always and Forever.” 
  * “Always and Forever Remy.” 
  * That night, they’re holding hands when Remy closes his eyes. Virgil feels his hand tighten before he goes, and the loud beep fills teh room. 
  * Tears stream like there’s no tomorrow and Virgil sits there until the Nurses make him leave. 
  * He locks himself in the spare room when he goes home, he can’t even look at teh bedroom he used to share. 
  * Patton has to get Logan to break down the apartment door a week later because he hasn’t heard from the younger man and he’s terrified of what could’ve happened.
  * The find him curled up on teh floor outside his bedroom, tear stains on his cheeks and half a PB&J sandwich next to him
  * He hasn’t eaten much, the sandwich was probably the third thing in the whole week, and he couldn’t stomach much of it. 
  * Patton covers him in a blanket and tidies up teh house as Logan makes some pasta. 
  * Virgil wakes up to Patton smiling weakly and bursts into tears again. 
  * His sobs still haunt Patton’s dreams. 
  * With Logan and Patton’s help, Virgil gets back on his feet, and two months later he writes his first song in ten months. 
  * Patton cries when he hears it, but they record it nonetheless and release it as a single. The cover is a picture of Remy, one where he’s sitting in the window, hands wrapped around a mug of coffee and head lazily rested against the glass. 
  * No one knows who it’s about, Virgil wasn’t openly out about his relationship, they knew he was dating someone (all his songs had some mention of a man), but he never takes off his wedding ring any more. 
  * Two years later, Virgil finally cleans his apartment. Remy’s things are packed away, he can’t bear to get rid of them so they’re in a storage locker nearby. 
  * He keeps his husband’s leather jacket and all the picture of them on their wedding day. He wears the jacket every time he performs and the picture sits on his bedside table. 
  * He may seem like he’s coping, but most nights he finds himself at the bar on the corner. His go-to drink is vodka (Remy’s favourite) and stumbles home at ungodly hours to an empty house and an even emptier heart. 
  * It’s mostly the same people there each night and they know not to bother him in teh corner. 
  * One night, a newcomer arrives. 
  * He sits at the bar and talks to the bartenders and makes himself at home
  * He comes around every few nights and dances and makes out with random drunk patrons
  * He’s with a really tall guy when he notices the sad man sat in the corner alone. 
  * He asks around but get’s the same answer.
  * “Who’s the guy over there? Why’s he alone?”
  * “Just leave him be, he’s been through a lot.” 
  * So he takes it upon himself to make him smile. 
  * The first time he sits across the booth he gets a glare scarier than his Abuela’s and runs off not two seconds later. 
  * The next day he buys the man a drink and sits across from him for ten minutes in silence before leaving. 
  * This goes on for a few weeks. 
  * The man will enter the bar, get a drink, talk to random folks, dance a little, buy two vodka whatevers and sit with teh sad man for ten minutes before he goes home again. 
  * One day, the sad man looks up and utters a word as he goes to leave. 
  * It’; his name
  * The man smiles and says his own, Roman (obvi, who else) before leaving
  * Vigil disappears for two weeks and ROman feels empty as he sees the vacant booth. 
  * When he arrives again, he looks happier and already has a second drink in front of him and one across the table when Roman wanders over
  * They start talking and find out they both sing, Roman is actually a fan of some of Virgil’s songs
  * Virgil tells Patton and Logan about the man at the bar and they encourage him to ask him out.
  * He’s a little hesitant, feeling like he’s betraying Remy, but one night he has a dream where Remy tells him he wants him to be happy, so the next time he see’s Roman he asks him out. 
  * Roman looks at the man’s hand and says he doesn’t want to be a piece on the side, getting rather agitated and storming out
  * Virgil realises he still has his ring on and runs after him, catching him outside trying to hail a cab
  * He tries to explain but Roman won’t listen so he asks if he’s heard his song ‘Ghosted’
  * Roman shakes his head and asks why he’s asking
  * Virgil just hands him his phone and headphones, telling him just give him a chance and listen to it
  * Roman sighs but does as asked, crossing his arms angrily as the song starts
  * Halfway through, tears start to fall and Roman gets super sad
  * When the song finishes, he hands back the phone, fingers trailing over the older man’s ring
  * “I know what that’s like, so I won’t say ‘I’m sorry’“
  * “Did you lose someone too?” 
  * Roman reaches for the chain around his neck, a promise ring with an engraving of a bird hanging from it loosely
  * “My boyfriend, Emile. About five years ago, a drunk driver hit our car. We both survived, but he had a brain bleed that was too slow and small to pick up. He had a fit one day at home and passed away in the ambulance.”
  * “Guess we’re both broken.” 
  * Roman asks if Virgil wants to stay at his place that night, neither wants to be alone
  * They become closer, and eventually, Virgil asks if he wants to be his boyfriend
  * He writes him a song and sings it to him on the roof of the apartment block one night
  * “I know I’m a mess, Remy was my everything. But I feel the same things I did for him when I look at you. I can’t be Emile, you can’t be Remy, but we can be the missing piece in each other’s hearts. Only if you’ll let me.”
  * “Of course.”
  * Patton helps Virgil announce he’s taken and his songs get less depressing again
  * He still wears his wedding ring and Roman still wears the promise ring
  * The fans question it but they just shrug it off
  * When Virgil proposes, he does it on stage in Paris, with the whole crowd holding up pink love heart cards. 
  * They get married in Roman’s backyard, with Logan and Patton and a few close friends and family members
  * The night after their honeymoon, Virgil goes out and visits Remy’s grave (he’s done this on the anniversary of their marriage, both their birthdays and his death). 
  * He thanks him for everything, and cries a little. He admits he still misses him, even though it’s now been eight years. 
  * He says that he and Roman are going to adopt twin boys soon, when the paperwork is approved, and they’re planning on naming them Remy and Emile. 
  * Before he leaves, he takes off the old wedding band, he’d still worn it when he got married, wanting Remy there to see him happy
  * He presses a kiss to it before placing it in a ring box and burying it just beneath the dirt to the left of the headstone
  * Roman and Virgil get the boys and raise them well
  * Emile is a happy, bouncy boy and Remy is as sassy as his namesake
  * They’re happy together
  * The end.




	3. Angel with a Shotgun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman's a rebel, Virgil's innocent, idk I'm sleep deprived and this was my dream last night so merry christmas

  * Think Hunger Games meets Handmaid’s Tale, America is under state rule. 
  * No one comes in, no one goes out.
  * Virgil (21) is one of the lowest classes
  * He lives in a tiny apartment building with way too many people for the size and doesn’t have heating most days because it’s too expensive. 
  * He works at a small grocery store, its hard work and pays nothing but at least its some money in teh bank. 
  * One day, he’s at work when there’s a commotion outside, 
  * He looks out just as a man barrels into the shop
  * He’s covered in soot and panting as he holds a bloody hand to his side
  * He has long brown hair falling into his green eyes and a distinct crown ring on his right hand
  * Virgil rushes over to help, hands shaking as he tears open the first aid kit.
  * The man introduces himself as Roman through laboured breaths.
  * He says there was another Act in the square
  * An Act is what the government calls the attacks by the rebellion, people trying to break down the rule and get out
  * Virgil starts to panic thinking the rebels will come to find him but Roman calms him down by saying they all ran off and that the police are sorting it out as they speak.
  * They get to talking and on Virgil’s days off, Roman takes him out to the park and to the movies
  * He buys him a new jacket and fixes the heater in teh younger man’s apartment
  * Roman never tells Virgil what he does for a job
  * He vanishes sometimes for days before getting in contact with Virgil again
  * One day, Roman cancels their meeting, but Virgil goes to the square anyways just wanting to get out of the apartment. 
  * He’s sitting on a park bench reading when an explosion sounds. 
  * Screams echo around him, and he fumbles to stand, getting to his feet as another explosion rings out, knocking him to teh ground. 
  * He stands shakily, watching smoke rise around him as people cry out for help. 
  * Through the smoke, he spots a familiar face setting up what looks like a robot under the temporary government office stairs
  * He runs over, catching the man by surprise as he stands
  * “Virge?” 
  * “Roman? What are you doing here? What’s that?”
  * “You weren’t meant to be here.”
  * “What? What are you talking about?”
  * “We need to leave.”
  * Roman starts to pull Virgil by his arm, but police start surrounding the area, arresting anyone that's not bleeding or crying or dead.
  * They grab Virgil and tear him away from Roman
  * He’s taken to a sort of prison underground and thrown in a cell with a man that looks so weak he can’t even talk. 
  * It’s small and cramped and dark, the only light through teh worlds smallest window at teh top of teh wall and the small crack beneath teh door
  * Virgil cries for hours, confused and terrified. 
  * Someone pushes two trays of food beneath the door, only a small sandwich and few crackers on the plates
  * But Virgil is starving so he scoffs his own quickly
  * He looks over to the other man, seeing his chest rise and fall a little quicker than when he arrived
  * He shuffles over and carefully helps the man sit up, feeding him small bites of the crackers with gentle words
  * The man never speaks, only nodding in thanks 
  * Days, maybe weeks, later, the man finally speaks
  * He says his name is Logan and he’s been there for four months
  * Virgil starts to cry again, but Logan says his partner is working on a way to get them out, the rebels and the innocents
  * Virgil doesn’t believe him but he curls up next to logan anyways, both men needing the heat as the sun departs from teh sky, leaving the cell colder than ever
  * Virgil is starting to lose hope, sick of hearing a cell open and a person cry, never to hear from them again. 
  * One day in teh dead of night, all teh doors click open
  * Virgil stands quickly, poking his head around when logan pulls him back
  * “Don’t. We need to wait, the guards will catch teh first lot of people to leave and if we stay here Pat will come to find us and we can get out safe.” 
  * Virgil doesn’t know how much to trust Logan but a gunshot scares him back into the man’s arms. 
  * About ten minutes later, a small voice calls own teh hall
  * “Logan? Where are you?”
  * “Patton.” Logan breathes, helping Virgil back to his feet and stepping into teh hall. 
  * A man with curly blonde hair and a pair of light blue shorts on stands at the end of the hall, a smile slowly crawling up his face as he lays eyes on teh pair of men. 
  * Neither Logan nor Virgil can walk very well, so they lean on each other and Patton meets them halfway, wrapping his arms around Logan as tight as possible whilst holding Virgil's weight at teh same time
  * “Come on, we have to go. Roman’s outside with the car.” 
  * they get outside to see a group of guards rn past, they duck between teh shadows to avoid being spotted and reach an old jeep with teh windows blacked out. 
  * Patton knocks on teh window _1,1,123_ and the sound of the locks fills teh air
  * He opens teh door and helps Virgil into the front seat before turning to help logan
  * Roman looks over at the man he once knew
  * He looks older now, despite only being gone a few months. The purple is faded from his hair which is now down to his shoulders and he’s paler than ever.
  * Roman looks different too
  * He has a scar across his cheek, still bruised, and his hair is tied into a bun.
  * Virgil only stares for a few seconds before jumping into his arms, lips connecting without a second thought
  * “I don't care that you’re one of them, I don’t care that you're a rebel
  * “I love you.” 
  * “I love you too Virgil but I have to drive us out of here and I can't do that with you on my lap”
  * The drive off down the old road but hit a pothole creating a loud bang
  * Spotlights track teh car and various army vehicles start chasing them
  * Roman keeps driving, face steeled and hands unshaken
  * Virgil grabs teh handle on teh door as they fly around corners, dust kicked up from teh tires creating a shield between them and the army
  * The reach an old border checkpoint turned town turned deserted ghost town and roman slams on the brakes, everyone jumping out and running to cover in an empty building as the helicopters reach them
  * Gunshots sound, the army trying to neutralise the threat. 
  * “We have to make a run for it"
  * “Not gonna happen. We’d be shot before we get twelve steps"
  * “Not if someone distracts them”
  * “Roman no” 
  * "Roman yes, get out of here. I love you, Virgil, please remember that. I'll see you on the other side.” 
  * Roman ducks out and sprints teh opposite direction to teh border wall, drawing teh attention of everyone. 
  * Virgil screams for him to come back as Patton and logan drag him with them,
  * They get to teh wall and shuffle through a gap in the panels, breaking free to find dozens of people also running through the plains
  * Roman had seen more people hiding in the abandoned buildings
  * He had been the distraction for maybe a hundred people to get free
  * Virgil still hopes he survived
  * It’s years later, Virgil settle into an apartment with Patton and Logan, teh pair getting married and pretty-much-adopting the younger of the three (they can’t actually because he’s 22 when they get there, but Patton insists he’s basically their kid) 
  * Virgil’s out for a walk when he sits in a park, a statue of a faceless man standing over him
  * It was modelled for Roman, his sacrifice saved hundreds of people that ay and because of that, saved thousands more as teh government fell
  * Virgil tears up at teh thought of what could have been
  * Someone sits down next to him, placing a hand between their legs
  * A ring on their middle finger glints in the sunlight
  * A crown
  * Virgil looks up through his tears, finding the sparkling green eyes of his forbidden love
  * “Hey Virgil”




	4. Lost children turns Date planning....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The creativitwins get lost in a store and Patton comes to teh rescue, meeting their cute dad in the process.

A quiet sniffle catches Patton’s attention as he reaches up to hang the shirt. Looking around, he spots no one, but the short glimpse of a disappearing shoe sends his gaze downwards under the rack of jackets. He quickly hangs the clothes before crouching down and pretend knocking on the racks support bar.

“Knock, knock, anyone home?” Another sniffle sounds, followed by a hasty shushing and a quiet conversation.

“What’s the password?” A wet voice answers, heavy with sadness and fear.

“Hmmm, is it candy?” A quiet conversation takes place, whispered but still loud enough for the retail worker to hear.

“You may enter.” Patton pulls back the jackets to reveal two young identical boys, no older than 6, sitting in the centre of the round rack. The first is dressed in a green plaid shirt that’s buttoned unevenly and wears a little black paper crown atop his messy brown hair. The second, with his head held high like he owns the place, is dressed in a red puffer vest and white shirt, a gold paper crown crinkled amongst his curls. Both boys have tear marks down their cheeks, eyes red and frowns across their lips.

“My names Patton, it’s nice to meet you two.” He reaches a hand forward, shaking the boy in reds before the boy in greens hands.

“I’m Roman, this is Remus.” The first boy sniffs, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “We’re ‘denticaly twins. That means we look the same but we’re not.”

“Where are your parents?” Patton looks around the rack, watching the line at the counter grow slowly. He doesn’t spot anyone that could be looking for the boys, however.

“We don’t have a mum but our daddy is here. We got losted.” Remus pouts, his voice much higher and nasally than Roman’s

“I don’t know where daddy is. I was looking at the toys and then he was gone.” Roman starts to cry again, Remus following moments after,

“Oh, hey, no, it’s alright. I’ll help you find your dad. How about we go sit at the counter so he can see you better?”

Roman nods slowly, grabbing Remus’s hand and helping him crawl out. Patton stands too, herding the boys towards the front of the store. They get to the counter and Patton quickly apologises to the people in line, pulling up two chairs and sitting the boys down with a box of tissues before turning to the first person in line.

It takes a few minutes for the boy’s to calm down again, but after a few nice smiles from ladies passing by and brotherly hugs, Remus asks if they can help. Patton scans the items, handing them to Roman who folds and stacks them neatly (or as neat as a 6-year-old can manage) and Remus puts them in a bag before pushing them towards the customer. It’s a working conveyor belt that gets through the line relatively quickly.

Technically, it’s against the store rules for anyone that's not an employee to be behind the counter, but in Patton’s mind, it won’t matter too much considering they’re six and it’s the only way he can keep an eye on them for their father to come find.

Twenty minutes and several customers gushing later, a tall man with thick black glasses and a tie messily done rushes past the door, pausing and spinning when he sees his boys helping an old lady put her bags into her cart.

“Oh my gosh, there you are!” The boy's father runs up to the counter, flushed and out of breath.

“Daddy!” Roman and Remus shout, turning to attach themselves to his legs. The lady smiles, thanking Patton again before wandering off into the mall.

“Don’t run off, how many times do I have to tell you?” He bends down to hug them, looking up at the smiling man behind the counter. “Thank you so much for finding them, I’m sorry if they were a bother.”

“Not at all! They were such good helpers.” As the family sits on the still dusty floor, he really should sweep that tonight before closing, Patton takes a moment to examine the man before him. He’s not conventionally attractive, with serious green eyes and the beginnings of frown lines forming on his forehead, but something about him catches the shorter man’s attention. Maybe it’s the softness in his voice as he berates the twins or the pain hidden in those eyes, but it’s intriguing nonetheless.

“Thank you, Mr Patton. I liked helping you.” Remus smiles up from his dad’s arms, showing the gap in his front teeth.

“I don’t know how to make it up to you, they’ll be the death of me soon enough if they keep this up.” The man stands, offering a hand to shake Patton’s with a tired smile.

“Well, I don’t know about you but I’m free on Friday at 7 pm, there’s this super cute restaurant not far from here that I’ve been meaning to check out.” The boys tilt their heads to the left, perfectly in sync, making Patton giggle as he still holds the man’s hand. “And I’ve heard they have a really good kids menu, chicken nuggets and curly fries.” Roman bounces at his dad’s side, Remus tugging on the edge of his shirt.

“I want curly fries!” The later boy smiles, “they’re like little piggy tails.”

“I-I, um.” The father stammers, flustered at the man’s giggle and his son's enthusiasm to hang out with him more. “I’m Logan, and I don’t think I can say no without these two having a fit.”

“Patton, I guess it’s a date.” The men smiled at each other as the twins fake gag, Roman exclaiming that his dad is gross as Remus makes kissy noises.


	5. Logan Adopts the Twins (pre-last chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Logan got to adopt the chaos twins.
> 
> (It's a little all over the place and only briefly edited so apologies but it feels better to just post it now. Also, shout out to my friends for being the other chaos children at the orphanage lol)

Logan Hartley was a man of many talents.

He could recite Pi to the 250th decimal. He could look at any star and name what it was, when it was discovered and, in some cases, how far from Earth it was estimated to be. He got a full teaching degree at 25 and works as a High School science teacher at the top school in the state.

But what he didn’t have was a family.

Sure, he’d dated around and had more than a few experiences in College but he lived alone in a house with too many bedrooms and not enough shoes at the door.

He would never admit to being lonely, no, he had no emotions of that sort what so ever. But when he goes out he can’t help but watch as couples walk hand in hand and children squeal in their parent's arms.

It was not his idea. The idea came from the husband of a life long friend.

Remy Delamire and his husband Dee (his full name was something along the lines of Dayton but he’d never explicitly told Logan this himself) had invited him out on a picnic with their 7-year-old son Virgil. Remy and Virgil were playing in the field of grass when Dee had brought up Logan’s lack of purpose.

“Where do you see yourself in ten years?” The question came rather suddenly, and Logan spent a good minute wondering where it had come from before answering simply.

“Excuse me?”

“Logan, you’re nearing thirty. You have no partner, no kids. I know that stuff takes time, so do you want that? What do you see yourself doing when you’re old and grey?”

“I would,” Logan takes a breath, eyes following his friend and honorary nephew as they roll about. “I would like what you have, Dee. I want a partner to hold when it's stormy outside and a child to read with at night. A child of my own to teach the ways of the world and a partner to stand in the doorway and smile as they fall asleep in my arms.”

“So go get it, Logan. Stop looking at us and dreaming and take it for yourself.” Dee holds out a card, placing it in Logan’s hands before running over and picking up Virgil, laughing with his family. Logan turns over the card, the name and number for the orphanage they found Virgil in typed neatly on the front.

It took a long time for Logan to call them and start the interviews. He spent a lot of nights sitting up in bed poring over parenting books and allowing his brain to feed him cognitive distortions about whether or not he’ll be good enough to raise a tiny person.

After four interviews and a background check of everything he’d ever done, Logan was sent three files and given three dates and times for first meetings with the kids

The first was for a pair of twins. Aged 9, Freddie and Nate had been in the system for four years, in and out of homes across the state. The file didn’t have much about them, but when Logan met them, he understood why.

As soon as he walked into the room, Logan wanted to turn and walk back out. The taller of the two was stuck in a headlock, his hands grasped tightly in the hair of the other as they both screamed for the other to let go. Upon hearing the door close, the boys freeze, looking up and letting go before straightening their shirts and smiling innocently at the new arrival.

“Hi, I’m Nate.” The smaller one says with a smile, showing off the gap where a front tooth is half-grown back.

“I’m Freddie.” The other waves, blowing his messy brown hair out of his eyes.

“It is nice to meet you, my name is Logan.” He steps closer, taking a seat on the armchair as the boy’s watch closely.

“You talk funny.” Freddie remarks, “all smarty like the books Nina burns.”

“Shut up, you can’t say that to people,” Nate shouts, slapping his brother's arms and getting a kickback.

“You shut up!” The two start fighting again, and though Logan wants to leave, he spends the next half an hour trying to get to know them and pulling them off each other after each question.

The second file and meeting were on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. Logan finished up his classes for the day and went to the orphanage to find a young girl sitting at the window. Her name was Nina, and she was 7 years old. The file had said she had behavioural problems that stemmed from a childhood trauma to do with her father.

“Good afternoon, my name is Logan, what’s yours?” Logan prompts carefully, sitting in the same armchair he had with the twins and watching as the girl slowly turned to him with wide eyes.

“Do you have a lighter?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Ms Hilda won’t give me my matches. Do you have a lighter?” Logan shakes his head, Nina sighing in response as she faces him fully, crossing er legs and looking at her hands. “I like to burn things. The fire makes me feel again.”

It’s safe to say Logan wasn’t dawdling when he left the room again.

By the time the third meeting rolled around, Logan wanted nothing more than to just give up. With the twins being chaotic and violent as they were and Nina such an old and damaged soul, Logan wasn’t sure it could get worse. He was both correct and incorrect.

The final meeting was with a 13-year-old girl named Monique, though it had mentioned it all capitals to call her Mo least you get bit. Again, her file didn’t say much, other than that she tended to be quiet and liked to read.

When he walked into the room, he was both pleased and disgusted. Mo sat at the table, curled up in a ball with a book in her lap. She was dressed in what appeared to be pyjamas and had socks with little cat paws on them. Despite the normality of her appearance, she did, however, have a small plant pot on the arm of the seat, her fingers dipping into the soul and bringing it to her mouth as she read.

Logan took a breath, closing his eyes and silently praying it was just chocolate in the pot before stepping further in and introducing himself. He did spend the full hour with her, and to be completely honest, had decided she was the most normal of the four children.

As he was leaving, content with his decision to give up, he stumbles across a pair of boys sat on the staircase. Neither could be older than six or seven and look identical bar the colouring of their shirts. The boys have messy brown hair, tanned skin and bright green eyes. The one on the left wears a green shirt with black shorts and no shoes, matching the boy on the rights except his shirt is red.

“It’ll be okay Ro, those boys are just jealous because we have royal blood.” The left one says with a forced smile, putting a cartoon printed sticky plaster over a cut on the other’s hand. ‘Ro’ doesn’t answer, just nodding and watching as the other continues to bandage his hand and knee.

Logan doesn’t interrupt, but he reaches the front desk and immediately asks about the boys.

Roman and Remus Monark were 6-year-old twins who were left at the door when they were only a year old. The orphanage had no clues as to who their parents were or why they had given up such beautiful twins but they had taken them in nonetheless. The boys were polar opposites, Roman didn’t speak unless through his brother and Remus had no volume control. They had been in a few foster homes and all had said the same thing “I want the quiet one who doesn’t shout random things at silly hours.” The orphanage had refused to separate them and because of this, the boy’s were always returned a few weeks after leaving.

Logan requested a meeting at the earliest convenience, which was, unfortunately, a week later, but he was excited. The two boys, from what he had seen, were perfect.

When he finally arrived, the one in green (he had to thank the matrons because for all purposes the boys were identical bar their colour schemes) was bouncing on the couch as the boy in red clapped at him. At the sound of the door closing, the bouncing child fell to the couch and pretended he had been doing nothing while the other blushed embarrassedly.

“Do not let me spoil the fun.” Logan couldn’t help but notice the shirts looked two sizes too big and their pants were rolled a few too many times to be normal. The boys shake their heads, Remus tapping his feet against the floor rapidly.

“I’m Remus, this is my brother Roman.” The boy in green speaks, taking his brother's hand as he inched it towards his leg.

“My name is Logan, it’s nice to meet you two.” He takes the seat opposite them, slouching forward so as to seem less threatening and letting a small smile creep across his face. Logan asks them about themselves and quickly notices that Roman whispers his answers to Remus before he answers for both of them.

Remus is much more outspoken. Very quickly he becomes comfortable and has no worry with saying the wrong thing nor speaking in his outside voice randomly. Roman, however, thinks carefully before saying anything and often has only one or two words as an answer.

Remus is telling a story about one of their games, animatedly acting out the roles, when Logan catches Roman looking at a book on the table. ‘The Rainbow Fish’ sits with its shimmering cover, the bright colours clearly attracting the boy’s attention from his brother.

“Roman? Would you like to read a book?” Logan asks after Remus is done laughing, the smaller boy looking up with wide eyes.

“Roman and I can’t read proper. We’re too little.” Remus answers, but Roman watches as Logan picks up the book.

“May I sit with you? I would like to read it with you.” Roman nods excitedly, Remus smiling at his brother and letting Logan come to sit between them.

“‘A long way out in the deep blue sea there lived a fish. Not just an ordinary fish, but the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean.’” Logan reads, trailing his finger across the words. Roman watches enthralled by as Logan acts out voices, Remus quickly losing interest and finding some craft supplies to play around with.

“‘“Here I come,” said the Rainbow Fish and happy as a splash, he swam off to join his friends’” Logan finishes, Roman clapping excitedly with a large smile across his cheeks. Remus hands him a drawing, one filled with creepy smiling faces on trees and suns and flowers with a few too many teeth.

“This is really good Remus,” he finds it more of a question than a statement as he stares at the picture, slowly finding more terrifying imagery amongst the crayon scribbles. “I’m really sorry, but I have to head off now. How about I come back next week and we can read something else?”

“Do you promise?” Remus sings, holding out his pinky and wiggling it about until Logan wraps his around it.

He stayed true to his promise. The next week at 2 pm, Logan returned to the orphanage and read Peter Pan to Roman whilst letting Remus doodle across his palms. He repeated this event for several weeks, returning and reading or playing a game with the twins, Roman had even started mouthing the words to some stories. They had been out for ice cream across the road and to the park down the street, the boy’s really had grown on the stoic man.

Nine weeks and several drawings pinned to his fridge, Logan returned for a final time. He read with Roman and helped Remus draw a dragon with hands for eyes and when it came ten minutes before leaving, sat the boy’s down on the couch opposite him.

“Boy’s you know it is coming time for me to leave again. I wanted to propose something to you. Do not feel you have to agree, feel free to ask questions if you feel it necessary.” Logan states, folding his hands in his lap. The boys stare on curiously, both with their heads tilted slightly to the left like small puppies.

“How would you like it if I adopted you?” The whole room stills, the twins both gasping lightly as they stare up at Logan.

“You mean-” Remus stammers. It’s a strange feeling, for the excitable boy to be speechless. “You want to be our dad?”

“If that is what you wish as well, then yes. You would not have to call me dad, you may continue to call me Logan, whatever would make you comfortable. I wish to give you a home, somewhere to feel safe, and it is completely up to you whether you want for that to be with me or with someone else.” Roman leans into Remus, whispering gently as the boy listens.

“Roman said that most people aren't like you. They come in and see us and take us home the next day. They treat us like cats. But you didn’t. You came back lots and you helped me draw and Roman read. I think we would like you to be our dad. Because you’re nice and funny and cool.” Remus speaks slowly, translating Roman’s words and adding his own in where there are pauses.

“Are you very sure? You can say no.” Remus nods happily, carefully holding out his arms as to ask for a hug. Logan complies, opening his arms as the young boy runs around the table, throwing himself at the man with laughter.

“Roman?” Logan offers a hand, watching as the boy slowly starts to bite at his thumb, shuffling over thoughtfully. Remus starts rattling off all the things they’ll do as a family but Logan pays more attention to the quieter boy, wanting to be sure that he’s okay too. Roman takes his hand, smiling lightly before motioning for a hug.

Logan shifts Remus and settles him on his knee, the boy too busy rambling to notice as his brother climbs up, sitting on Logan’s other knee and wrapping his arms around his shoulders, face pressed into his shoulder. Logan feels water hit his skin as Roman starts to shake, grasping his shirt in his hands as Logan rubs his back comfortingly, entertaining Remus to stop him from freaking out about his brother’s well being.

“I’m happy you came to see us that time.” Roman lifts his head slightly, tears still pouring down his cheeks. “Thank you, Dad.” Logan feels his own eyes well up, holding Roman tightly against himself and catching Remus by the back of his shirt as he almost falls off the man’s knee.

Finally, Logan had found a purpose. He had found a family.


	6. Smoke And Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil smokes and Logan likes the stars. 
> 
> (Thanks to Mo for editing, you're the bestest and I love you xx)

The night is clear, the stars shining brightly against the dark sky. A light breeze passes through the trees, all the creatures in the park curled up for the night. The whole city is silent, not a single sound echoing into the night.

Above the park, a figure pulls themselves out a window onto the fire escape, a book tucked securely under their arm as they climb upwards, cautiously reaching the roof before getting comfy and staring up at the moon.

Logan loved the stars. He loved the prospect of an infinite universe to explore. He loved learning the stories behind each and every shining light in the night sky and watching the moon wax and wane. He was filled with a curiosity that no one could match. 

Across the apartment roof, a young man sits with his legs dangling through the bars of the railing. A match flickers in his hands, held close to his face to light the stick loosely hanging from his lips. The stick glows with his inhale, a puff of smoke filling the air as his fingers shake out the match and remove the cigarette from his mouth. 

Virgil needed an escape. Between home, work and school kicking his butt, his stress levels were frequently higher than the stoners behind the gym. Smoking felt like letting all that stress go. Inhaling the smoke was like breathing in all his problems, letting them fill his lungs ready to set him alight. But when he exhales, watching the white smoke rise and dissipate into the air, all his problems fly away. 

Two different people, two different worlds. 

It’s a colder night. Virgil sits against the rails, hoodie and jacket wrapped tight around his body as the cigarette burns between his fingers. He leans his head back, staring up at the stars as tears fell down his pale cheeks. Headphones were wrapped around his neck but nothing played, everything too upbeat or slow for him to stomach. 

Across the roof, Logan shivers against the cool breeze. He doesn’t have a jacket, but he wanted to draw, so sacrifices had to be made. He had curled up against the maintenance door, hiding from the cold as much as possible as his pencil danced across the page. His shaking hands did their best, but as the wind blew again, they froze, dropping the pencil to the stone roof. 

The clattering caught Virgil's attention, head snapping in the direction of the sound as a figure chases something in the dark. When they stood, he watches them shake before rubbing their arms, returning behind the stairwell. Against his common sense, Virgil stands, taking one last breath of his cigarette before stomping it out and wandering over towards the person. 

Virgil recognises the boy from his walk to the University campus each day. They smile briefly each morning, Vigril with his tired hands grasping a mug of coffee for dear life as Logan readjusts his arms full of books.

He shrugs off his jacket, holding it out in front of the man, waiting for him to look up with those familiar green eyes. Logan watches for a moment, surveying the man in front of him before accepting it with a small smile. He motions to the spot next to him as he pulls on the coat, Virgil nodding and sliding down the wall to sit next to him. 

They sit in silence, Logan sketching madly as Virgil closes his eyes, listening to the sounds of the pencil on the pages. Tears still fall down his cheeks, softer than before, as his mind runs over everything, but he keeps still and quiet, not wanting to disturb the peace. 

It’s Logan who finally breaks said silence, pausing his drawing as he looks up at the man to his left. 

“You can smoke if you need, I do not mind.” His voice is quiet and deep, with a lilt of an accent Virgil can’t name.

“How did you know?” He replies, pulling his pack from his jeans pockets and lighting one up to his left, holding it out so the smoke drifts away from the other man.

“Your jacket smells of smoke,” he pauses briefly, debating whether or not to say the rest, “and coffee. And a little bit like strawberries.” Virgil just nods, watching the man turn away and start drawing again, eyebrows pinched together. 

“What are you drawing?” 

“The constellation Orion and Canis Major. The hunter and his dog.” Logan tilts his sketchbook for Virgil to see. The figure of a warrior, with a shield and a sword, stands proud with head tilted up. A dog crouches at his side, teeth bared in what could be a smile or a snarl. 

“That’s amazing.” Virgil’s eyes trace over the drawing as he breathes in the smoke, leaning away to exhale. Logan can’t help but stare as the cigarette catches the light, the small embers shining against the dark night sky. 

The two men fall back into a comfortable silence, Logan drawing away and Virgil just relishing in the darkness of the night. 

When Logan finishes his drawing, brushing eraser shavings off both the book and himself, they stand, Virgil walking with Logan to the fire escape so he can climb back down to his window. 

“Come back tomorrow?” The shorter man asks, carefully pulling the coat off and handing it back as he shuffles his book between his hands. 

“Sure.” Virgil smiles, leaning against the rails as Logan climbs down, watching his disappear into a window before finding his own way home.


	7. Speak Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based vaguely on Say Something by A Great Big World.   
> Roman is depressed and teh boys notice but it gets bad one day and Virgil helps him. 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!! there are blood, depression and self-harm in this story!!! it is more than just a bit of a vent fic tbh and I know its messy and all over teh show but I wanted to post it anyways.

 

Roman was the happiest, most charming person you could ever meet. He always had a smile on his face, always cracking jokes and laughing. He never failed to bring a smile to the cheeks of all his peers, it was like it was his sole purpose in life. 

 

But Roman was an actor and an amazing one at that. 

 

He hid behind a mask of smiles, dressed in costumes of colour and played the role everyone expected of him. 

 

Behind closed doors, he dropped the act. As soon as the lock clicked and the world was shut out, that charming smile fell. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling with tears in his eyes as silence echoes in his heart. 

 

For all purposes he had a perfect life, why should anyone think he was struggling? He had a beautiful home, a good job, three wonderful friends who were oh so happy to have him around. So why was he so sad?

 

Why did he always feel like the whole world had their hands on his shoulders and were pressing down as hard as they could?

 

It was Virgil who noticed first, of course it was. 

 

The group had gone out to a cafe during their one collective day off. Patton arrived first, he only lived around the corner so it was a two-minute walk, meeting Logan second, punctual as always right on 12. Virgil was third, almost running to get there a minute late. Roman had arrived shortly after, sauntering over and claiming it was a fashionable lateness. 

 

Everything was normal, the quartet sitting in the same booth they had since high school, Virgil curled up around a mug while Patton rambles on about the animals at the shelter he volunteers for. Logan was watching Patton, enamoured by his every move, but Roman? He had started to zone out. 

 

Virgil watched him stare at the empty mug in his hands for five minutes, Patton and Logan too invested in each other to see the gleam in the usually happy boy’s eyes. He watched as Roman’s hand drifted to his forearm, pinching the skin through his sleeves. He watched the young man flinch, eyes blinking rapidly before looking up at the pair in front of him, making a funny quip and plastering a smile across his painted lips. 

 

Logan noticed next. He was always very observant (when not caught up in Patton’s eyes).

 

It was a group movie night at the Hartley household, or as Logan called it ‘Roman, Patton and Virgil break into my house and destroy my living room in order to watch movies on my tv and spill popcorn all over my carpet’. All was going as normal, Virgil and Roman bickered over movie choice before settling on ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, Patton served them all cookies and Logan moved their shoes beside the door. It was during ‘Jack’s Lament’, while Virgil was dramatically reenacting the song to an enamoured Patton that Logan saw Roman scratch at his wrist. The sleeve of his Superman onesie slid up, revealing a small red line etched into the tanned skin. It was only a quick glimpse, it could’ve been a loose thread or a trick of the light, but it had Logan watching him all night. He saw the flinch when Patton grabbed his arm, the vacant look in his eyes as he watched Jack and Sally together. 

 

Patton was the last to find out and in the worst of ways. 

 

Realistically, he knew something was up from the moment it started, he wasn’t as dumb as he let the world believe. As soon as Roman’s smiles dropped even a millimetre he noticed, he just didn’t know how to ask. 

 

It was a cold night, a storm was rolling in and the city was drenched in rain. Patton was at home, curled up in bed reading a book when his phone went off. It only rang twice, ending before he could answer. He turned on the screen to see a message pop through. 

 

**_Ro-Bear xx_ ** **_:_ ** _sorry but diall_

 

 

It was simple, and to anyone else would’ve been rather inconspicuous. But Roman was a grammatically correct texter, always with correct punctuation and spelling and an emoji at the end. Patton called back, closing his book and climbing out of bed as the phone rang. 

 

And rang...

 

And went to voicemail...

 

Roman always picked up.

 

Patton called Logan and Virgil as he pulled on his shoes, telling them to meet him at Roman’s. He grabbed his keys and wallet and drove over despite the low visibility and heavy downpour. It took a few minutes, two more unanswered calls to Roman and almost hitting a cat that crossed at the wrong time before Patton arrived. 

 

He opened the door, using his key that Roman had given him when he moved in due to his penchant for losing his stuff, and stuck his head in, calling for the other man. 

 

There was no answer, the whole house was quiet but the lights were all on. The tv was muted and the ever-running stereo turned off, it was like all noise had ceased to exist. 

 

Patton stepped inside, calling out again as he shut the door, wandering further into the house to find his friend. There was almost no sign of him, if it weren’t for the keys on the counter and the shoes spread across the entrance Patton could’ve been fooled into thinking he wasn’t home. 

 

His bed was unmade, clothes and books were strewn across his floor but no sign of him. 

 

When Patton reached the bathroom door, he expected to hear maybe a tap or the shower running but was met with the sound of broken sobs. 

 

“Roman? Are you in there? It’s Patton,” he called softly, knocking on the door softly. The sobs from inside stop, shuffling and the sound of clattering replacing them before silence. 

 

“Roman?” 

 

“I’m - I’m okay Pat. I’m fine.” Roman’s voice floats through the wooden door, shaking and out of breath. 

 

“It’s okay if you’re not, would you like to talk, kiddo?” Patton offers, hearing the door open as Logan and Virgil arrive. 

 

“No, no, no, I’m fine. Just go home. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Another loud clatter sounds from inside, followed by a choked sob. 

 

“Can you open the door for me, Roman?” The two arrivals find Patton leant against the wall, hand on the doorknob and fear in his eyes as the sobs get louder from inside.

 

“Pat, gimmie a minute,” Virgil pulls the younger man away from the door, Logan taking him into the kitchen and leaving Virgil alone at the still locked door. 

 

“Princey? It’s just you and me.” Virgil knocks lightly, hearing a groan from inside. “Hey, rude man.” Roman snickers lightly. 

 

“Do you wanna tell me what’s going on? Pat was kinda worried when he called us and to be honest I am too. It’s not every night one of your friends locks himself in his bathroom.” The sounds from instead get a little muffled, some mix of a sob and a groan and the rustling of packaging. “That’s okay too. Do you wanna count with me?” Virgil slowly talks him through one of his breathing exercises, much like Roman has done for him many a time before. 

 

“How ya doing now buddy? Is there anything I can help with?” Logan peeks his head from the kitchen, getting a quick shake from the man crouched in front of the bathroom door before Roman shuffles around inside. 

 

“I need - um, I need help but,” Roman takes a breath, looking around at the room and what he’s done, “you’re gonna - you can’t,” 

 

“Roman, I already know.” Virgil waits, listening for any sign of the man inside agreeing to let him inside to help. It’s the small click of the lock and the hesitant shuffle away from the door that lets him know. He looks back at the pair at the end of the hall before ducking inside, closing the door and facing the wood as he asks if Roman wants it locked again. The other man agrees and Virgil obliges, locking the door before sitting down, slowly taking in the sight of his friend. 

 

It was safe to say Virgil was worried. Roman’s eyes were red and puffy from crying, tears still falling down his unnaturally pale face. He was curled up in the corner of the room, leant against the shower wall in just his pyjama pants and avoiding looking up at Virgil. What was most concerning was the way he held his arms. They were laid on his lap, palms face up, and covered in sticky red. 

 

“Can I help you clean up?” 

 

“It won’t stop.” Roman’s eyes fall on the pile of bloody tissues next to the bin, “I didn’t mean too and now it won’t stop and I want it to stop and I’m so scared.” His breathing picks up again, arms shaking as the blood continues to drip onto the floor between his legs. 

 

“Hey, it’s okay. I can help.” Virgil shuffles closer, taking a cloth and wetting it in the sink before sitting directly in front of the panicking man. With gentle movements, he washes away the blood, spotting the mark in question. It was deep, much deeper than the others but not deep enough to be a concern. Virgil raises Roman’s arm, holding the cloth to the skin and looking up at his face. 

 

“You don’t have to do this alone, Roman. You never did. I’m sorry we didn’t reach out sooner. I’m sorry we let you get to this point before trying to help you. We are always here when you need us, literally, I’m awake all the time, you know this.” Roman snickers through his tears, wiping his cheeks with his free hand. 

 

“I just don’t know what’s wrong.”

 

“And that’s okay. You don’t have to know why you feel the way you do. You just have to understand that there is always a better way. There are people that care for you, people that want to help you feel better. It’s hard to ask for help, I understand that, but this is an incredible start. I’m so proud of you, Roman.” 

 

No more words are spoken, Virgil merely waits for the bleeding to stop before using the bandages Roman had taken out but not tried to use yet. He wraps the man’s arms, tucking them in place before bringing his hands up to his lips. 

 

“We care, Roman.” He mumbled, pressing a light kiss to his tanned knuckles. Though the tears had stopped falling, Roman’s eyes still shone. He threw himself into Virgil’s arms, wincing as the bandages brushed the man’s bony shoulder just a little too hard.

 

They sat like that for a while, no words but no tears, holding each other like the whole world was in their arms. 

 

“Think you’re ready to see the others? I know they’re worried about you.” Virgil whispers, running his fingers through Roman’s messy hair. The man in his arms nods, pulling away slowly and standing, taking his shirt from Virgil’s hands and pulling the sleeves over his hands.

 

“They’re not gonna judge you, Ro. They’re not gonna make fun of you or treat you any different because of this.” Roman just nods, taking Virgil’s hand and letting him lead him down to the kitchen. 

 

Patton had been sitting on the counter when they finally entered, hands clasped around a mug of hot chocolate. Logan stood in front of him, glasses on the counter and hands rubbing tat his eyes. 

 

As the two men entered, Patton jumped down, taking two steps to hug Roman before hesitating. Roman nodded slowly, not dropping Virgil’s hand but holding Patton tightly in his other arm. When he pulls away, Patton smile at him, squeezing his hand before Roman’s eyes fall onto the last man in the room, Logan, who was pushing his glasses back up his nose. 

 

“I do hope you do not expect me to hug you as well, I love you but I am not one for sentimental actions.” Roman just laughs lightly, shaking his head as Virgil puts his arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. 

 

“You’re gonna be okay, Roman. We’ll make sure of it.” 


	8. If I...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Remus are inseparable, but what if one did the unthinkable?
> 
> Thank you so much to Mo and Ruby for editing this!! xx

"Would you love me more if I killed someone for you?" Remus whispered, head leant in Logan's lap as his eyes stared unfocused towards the TV. Logan's hand stilled, fingers tangled in Remus' curls. 

"Excuse me?" 

"I said we should watch murder conspiracies." Remus rolled over, smiling up at his best friend with that slightly demented glint in his dark brown eyes. Logan squinted slightly, before letting a light laugh escape his lips. He grabbed the remote and handed it to the man in his lap, watching as he opened youtube and started up their favourite spooky playlist. 

 

Remus and Logan were the most unlikely pair. Logan was smart, sophisticated. He dressed in button-down shirts and carried a satchel and always had a charger for any device.   
Remus was nothing alike that. He wore ripped jeans and bleach-stained t-shirts with combat boots that were as old as he was. His phone was forever below 20% and he never had a jacket. Anyone you asked would vouch he didn't even know what a hairbrush was. 

But somehow, over their years of high school and college in the same classes, they had become two peas in a pod. They knew more about each other's lives than they did about their own, spent countless nights crying in each other's arms. It was a surprise to many but you couldn't separate them no matter what. 

Remus was known to be a little on the twisted side of life. He was always discussing the horribly gory details of history, or making sick jokes. He had given Logan a rabbit's foot keyring for Christmas one year and it wouldn't have shocked the bespectacled man if he had severed the limb himself.   
So it wasn't worrying when things like murder or death were brought up in conversation.

 

"I just wish he would listen! There is no need to talk over me when I am nearing the end of a sentence; I'm about to be quiet in expectance of a response if he would just wait." 

"I'll kill him for you." 

"You will do no such thing, you have three papers due in two days and we have a presentation next week, I am not doing all the work for you because you ended up in prison." 

There were times when Remus would zone out, where walls would become the sole focus of his energy or chairs would offend his entire being. He would flinch at sirens or duck his head around police. Logan had always thought it was because of his childhood but as the years passed, he began to wonder if it was something more. 

 

"Logan?" The man turned to look at his friend, tears streaming down his cheeks as his hands clench the torn hoodie.   
"I'm okay, Rem," Logan spoke, voice eerily calm around the now dried split in his lip. A bruise began to darken on his forehead and his breaths were shallow; whether from the silent sobs clawing up his throat or the punches that had been landed against his ribs, Remus couldn't tell. At that moment, he knew Logan should never look that broken again. 

"It's okay to not be okay, Lo." Remus stepped closer, hand outstretched to grasp the fabric from his friend's hands, slowly pulling it away to place it on the counter beside them. "It'll be okay Logan, he can't hurt you here. I won't let him hurt you again." The walls shattered as Logan fell into Remus' arms, tears immediately soaking through to his taller friends shoulder. Remus ran a hand through his now unruly hair, rubbing the man’s back and silently vowing to protect him against all odds. 

 

It was a cold winter night, the rain pounded against the windows and trees outside created shadows that even Logan found difficult to rationalise. Remus had gone out that morning and was yet to return, to even text and say where he was or how long he would be. It wasn't like him to vanish, and it certainly wasn't like Logan to sit at the counter watching the clock as he drank far too much coffee. 

The door shook with a loud and desperate knock, Logan’s heart jumping out of his chest at the sudden noise. Was it the wind? Is it a murderer? No, of course not, he reasons, it's Remus finally coming back to his flat for an extremely late dinner. He took a breath to calm his heart as another knock sounded at the door. 

"Remus? Where have you been?" Logan asked as he pulled it open, immediately bettered by the wind. The man in front of him looked nothing like the friend he'd known for years. His eyes lacked the usual gleam of mischief, and his hair was plastered to his forehead. 

"I need a place to hide. I've got to talk to you and I promise I won't lie this time. You're the only person that will understand please just let me in." Remus stammered, lip trembling from either fear or the cold- Logan couldn't tell.   
"Rem, what's going on? You were meant to be back for lunch and never turned up, then dinner and you did not text even to say you would be late. And now you've arrived spouting 'I'm sorry's and that you need to hide? Remus, talk to me." Logan grabbed the man's hand, spinning him to a stop from his pacing of the living room. 

"I did something." He whispered, running a hand through his wet locks, eyes filling with tears as he looked at Logan.   
"Sit down." Logan pushed him towards the couch, ignoring that he'll damage the fabric with the water that runs down his body. He wrapped a blanket around his shoulders, leaving him briefly to make tea before returning to sit next to his shaking friend. "Tell me what happened."   
"He hurt you. I couldn't- he couldn't. He didn’t even fight back," he was whispering and sputtering his thoughts out. His hands wrapped around his favourite mug, one that had shattered when Logan moved in and he'd glued back together with glitter glue. 

"Did you get in an altercation with someone?" Logan's mind reeled, eyes tracing his pale skin for any sign of injury.   
"He was there and- I didn't know- and he said bad things Lo-Lo. Bad bad things. I don't know what happened but then he was on the ground and I couldn't stop. I didn't want too, you have to understand that. I didn't want to do it- it just happened." 

"Remus," Logan whispered, something clicked in his mind and heart. He slowly placed his own mug on the table, hands shaking as they covered Remus'. "Did you find Hayden?" The name sent a flinch down both men's spines, Logan's because the man beat him when they split up, and Remus... "Remus, what happened?" 

"He was, he was at the cafe, our cafe. He was with his friends, the people he calls friends, talking about you. He said bad things Lo-Lo, really bad things. And I followed him home and knocked on the door. I think I blacked out, but I was on top of him and there was blood, so much blood."   
"Remus." He didn’t want to pull his hands away, but if what Remus was saying was true, the hands he was holding were the same hands used to kill Logan’s abusive ex-boyfriend. "Did you kill Hayden?"   
"It was an accident." Remus looked up at Logan, tears cascading down his cheeks. A single sob escaped his throat, shaking his body so hard the tea in the mug splashed over the side, staining the blanket still curled around him.

"I believe you." He didn't know why he said it. Logan knew, in every sense of the terms, Remus was a murderer. He had killed a man with his bare hands. "Remus, I believe it was an accident, but you have to be honest with me okay?" Remus nodded, letting go of the mug so Logan could place it on the table, fingers lacing with his.   
"Tell me where he is." Remus recounted the story, how he sat back and realized what he'd done, spent an hour in tears then started to clean the scene. He explained how he'd wiped down everything he touched, vacuumed the floor and thrown out the old bag. Logan didn't ask, and Remus didn't tell, but they both knew the body had been removed from the scene. 

"Did anyone see you go there?" Remus shrugged, eyes widening with fear.   
"I don't want to go prison Logan, I can't get locked away. What if they saw, what if they know it was me?"   
"You will not get locked up Remus, I will not let that happen." Logan pulled him close, wrapping his arms tight around the pale man, mind racing with all the possibilities. The body could be discovered, Remus could be found out, Logan could be a suspect himself. They would have to change Remus's appearance just in case, his signature messy brown hair with the single grey streak would be too easy to recognise if anything came to light. 

"We will deal with this more tomorrow, for now, I think it best we sleep. It's been a long night for both of us." Logan helped Remus up, taking him to his bedroom and giving him a change of clothes before pulling him into the bed, both of them holding onto each other as if the world was about to end. 

When day broke, Logan left to the shops to buy hair dye, returning to find Remus having shaved his moustache and the stubble on his jaw already. They sit in the bathroom for hours, Logan slowly bleaching the curls before putting green over the top, Remus's favourite colour and a choice that anyone around them would completely expect. Remus found his old glasses, removing the contacts he so loved and resigning to look like a messy, translucent version of his best friend. 

"Logan, what if they say I'm on the loose? Will you turn me in?" Remus asked, curled up once again in Logan's lap, head rested on his shoulder as his fingers played in the brushed out curls. 

"Never." 

"What if I'm on the news?" 

"You won't be." 

"But Logan-"

"No. It is not going to happen. Remus, I'm not letting him take away the last thing I have left. He was the reason my parents don't speak to me, he was the reason I broke my leg two years ago. He will not be the reason my best friend is ripped away from me." 

"Do you love me?" Remus sat up onto his knees next to Logan, with eyes wide behind his thick glasses. His hands rest on Logan's shoulders, fingers brushing the dark skin that stretched the back of his neck.   
"Of course I do. You are my best friend." Logan smiled lightly, removing one hand to intertwine their fingers, tapping morse code for 'Always' into the back of his hand. 

"No, that's not what I mean. You're willing to hide a murderer in your house, a killer, a maniac. No one in their right mind would do that unless they truly cared for that person. So why are you willing too?"   
"Because I care about you, Remus. I do not know if it is love, but you are the only person that has stuck by me all this time. I know it is not an ideal situation and I know we could both end up in a terrible position but you are all I have left. You did it to protect me, and so I will protect you." 

Remus and Logan were an odd pair, they were polar opposites. But together, they could face the world. They would hide from sirens and wash away blood, never telling a soul what had happened that night.


	9. 'I know Where I'm Going'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remy and Emile try to go on a date but it doesn't start according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one today, I'm tryna write more prompts to get back to Adventures In Dad-ing, so I guess we'll see how it goes, keep an eye out for that and more of these little ficlets.

“Remy, where are we? We’ve been walking for ages.” Emile whines, feet sore from the constant pattering against the sidewalk. He was right, of course, the pair had been walking in circles around the city for two hours because Remy was on a quest to take Emile out on a date. 

“It’s not far this time, I know where I’m going now.” Remy insists, eyes hidden behind his dark glasses. It took a long time for him to become comfortable enough around Emile to remove the glasses in the first place, the fact that they had returned to their perch only more evidence that he had no idea where they were.

“Remy, please, can we sit for a second?” Emile tugs on his boyfriend's arm, pulling him to a stop. With a defeated sigh, Remy nods, taking a seat on the old bench next and putting his head in his hands. “Talk to me baby, what’s going on?” 

“I just wanted this to be perfect but it’s all going wrong.” Remy sighs, leaning into the arm that snakes around his shoulders. The scent of lavender and cookies washes over him, easing the tension in his spine almost instantly as Emile leans his head against Remy’s. 

“Just spending time with you is perfect. I don’t care what we do, I just want to be with you.” He whispers, carding a hand through Remy’s hair softly as he laces their fingers together. 

“I wanted to surprise you and take you to the new cat cafe that opened across town. I know you wanted to go there really bad so I thought it would be the perfect date but I can’t read a map and I have no sense of direction and I can't see anyways so it’s all going wrong and I’m so sorry Em.” 

“Oh baby, no it’s not going wrong because we’re still together. Thank you for trying, that's really sweet. How about I look it up and we see if we can catch an uber or something?” 

“What would I do without you?” Remy looks up, peering over his glasses with those familiar dual-coloured eyes that Emile fell for. One a warm brown and all-seeing, the other a dull grey-blue.

“Doesn't matter because you’re stuck with me now.” Emile smiles, pressing a kiss to Remy’s lips before taking out his phone. Something catches Remy’s eye over his boyfriend's shoulder and he still, mouth falling open as he pushes the phone back into his lap. 

“Emmy, turns out I do know where I’m going.” He points across the street where a brightly coloured building painted with cartoon cats stands out against the washed-out bricks. Emile squeals excitedly, pulling Remy’s arm as he drags him across the road, cooing at the cute designs before he’s even seen the cats inside.


	10. It Will Be Fun, Trust Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fictober Prompt 1) “It will be fun, trust me.” or Remus convinces Deceit/Darwin to skip school. 
> 
> (https://fictober-event.tumblr.com/post/187649454323/fictober-2019)

Remus was not known for having the best ideas. He was, however, known for being chaotic and unpredictable, which was excatly why Darwin was hesitant to follow him anywhere. 

 

“Remus, I don’t know, what if we get caught?” They’d been at it for nearly twenty minutes, Remus begging and pleading for Darwin to skip school and follow him wherever it was he wanted to go and Darwin disagreeing cautiously. 

 

“ **It will be fun, trust me.** ” He holds out a hand, wiggling his fingers teasingly towards the shorter teen. 

 

“Those words make me want to trust you less.” With a hesitant sign, he gives in, carefully placing his hand into Remus’. He knew it was a mistake as the familiar glint of mischief filled his friend's eyes and squealed lightly as he was pulled into a sprint. The pair sprint through the halls, Remus skillfully ducking between their classmates as Darwin clumsily follows, apologising to everyone he bumps into over his friend manic giggles. Remus tugs him through the gym doors, leading him behind the bleachers and out the back doors to the school field where he lets go of Darwin’s hand to bend down in front of him, fingers creating a step to help him over the fence.

 

“I don’t know about this Rem.” 

 

“It’s either you jump or I throw you.” Darwin shudders at the memory of the last time Remus ‘helped’ him get somewhere which ended up in a broken wrist. 

 

He places one foot on Remus’s hands, using the leverage to pull himself atop the metal fence, straddling it as Remus climbs up after him. The younger teen drops gracefully to the other side and looks up expectantly. 

 

“Couldn’t we have just gone out the front gates?”

 

“No, Dep stands there at breaks and gives you detention if you even look at him. Come on, the longer you sit there the more chance you’ll get caught.” 

 

“I’ll get caught? What about you?” 

 

“Oh, I’m running. Anyone comes out that door, I’m gone.” Darwin can't help but snort at his friend, taking one last look back to the school before swing his leg over. Remus holds his arms out like he’ll catch him, but one short glare has his arms back at his side as Darwin falls, rolling to his feet to save the shock from the sudden contact with the ground. 

 

“Now, what are we doing exactly?” 

 

“We’re going on an adventure!” Remus spins with a flourish that rivals his brother's dramatic before skipping off into the trees towards the town centre. Darwin laughs again, sticking his hands in his pockets and following, carefully stepping over fallen branches and avoiding holes in the ground. 

 

After a short walk, the pair emerge from the trees in the mall carpark, Remus singing along to whatever random tune was stuck in his head. They head inside, Darwin following close to his friend who gets distracted at every remotely colourful object in the windows. 

 

“Ooh!!! Wanna try on clothes at Marcy’s?” Remus points across the foodcourt to the secondhand store and, without waiting for an answer, took off down the escalator and into the dingy store. 

 

Darwin sighs, he knew it was a terrible idea to follow him anywhere, but school was boring and at least he got to see Remus with a smile on his face. By the time he enters the shop, Remus is already dressed up in a cowboys hat and feather boa, strutting about the shop in a pair of stiletto heels. 

 

“That colour does not suit you at all.” Darwin laughs, pointing at the neon yellow feathers. 

 

“Mmm, more your style.” Remus giggles, draping the garment around his friend before throwing a bowler hat onto his head and laughing harder as it falls over his eyes. 

 

They spend the whole afternoon trying on various items, Remus’s favourites being crop tops and trench coats and Darwin trying various hats and skirts. Photos are taken under the cover of another rack and it’s not long before Darwin catches Remus cackling over a picture of him in the bowler hat, leather flare skirt, yellow ‘My Little Pony’ shirt and green sunglasses. 

 

“Remus! Delete that!” He tackles the teen to the ground, not that it was a hard feat considering he was in three-inch heels that were two sizes too big. They roll about the floor in hysterics, Remus trying to keep his phone out of reach of Darwin's hands but only succeeding in ending up straddled by the smaller but older teen. 

 

“Thank you for today, Rem. This has been really fun.” Darwin huffs out, giving up on his quest and just sitting back on Remus’s thighs. 

 

“Of course Dee, I like making you happy.” Remus flicks the bowler hat still positioned in Darwin’s hair, gaining a laugh and use of his legs back. 

 

“I’m buying this. Did you find anything you liked?” Remus shakes his head, watching as Darwin collects his own clothes and escapes to the changing room. He really did have the best friend ever. 


	11. A helpful hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman gets stuck outside a bar and Virgil helps out, only to find he's the younger sibling of an old friend. 
> 
> Fictober Prompt 2) "Just follow me, I know the area" I only got teh tale end of the prompt in there, I got a bit carried away and it's left open because I'm not sure what else to write.   
> (https://fictober-event.tumblr.com/post/187649454323/fictober-2019)

Virgil was frustrated, that wasn’t new. It was what he was frustrated about that was. Dorian had come to him with the news that there was a preppy kid in school uniform sitting outside the bar with tears running down his cheeks. What he had failed to mention, was that the preppy kid outside was from the other side of the bridge. 

“What, pray tell, are you doing outside a bar at midnight?” Virgil asked, leaning casually against the brick wall, profiling the teen in the dim streetlights. 

“My boyfriend dumped me and decided it would be funny to kick me out of the car and now I can’t get home and I’m lost and cold and kind of scared and you’re not helping, Angelina Joyless.” The person snaps, tears still streaming down their cheeks as they look up at the young gang member through messy curls. 

“Right. What’s your name?” Virgil steps over, shrugging off his jacket and holding it out to the teen who is yet to move from their spot. 

  
“Roman, they/them pronouns please.” They accept the jacket with a small smile, wrapping it around their shoulders. 

“Nice to meet you Roman, I’m Virgil. Wanna come inside so I can sort you out a ride?” He motions to the door before spinning and starting to walk over.

“I don’t- Um- There’s-” Virgil stops at Roman’s stuttering, turning to see them looking wide-eyed at the door to the bar.  Virgil nods, gently sitting next to them on the cold sidewalk. He watches their eyes trail over his arms, exposed beneath his torn tank top and revealing the muscles he’d worked so hard to build up. 

“I get it, gang area, you’re scared to go in yada yada. I can also tell you’re really anxious and slightly hyperventilating, wanna try breathing for a bit?” Virgil helps the teen through a breathing exercise he’d found over the years, slowly calming their racing heart and stopping the tears at the same time. 

“Thank you. I’m sorry I was rude when you first came out, you were just trying to help and I treated you terribly. I’m very sorry.” 

“No sweat kid. Want me to give you a ride home? **I know the area** pretty well, or I could grab my phone if you’d rather call someone.” 

“My brother just got back from University and doesn’t have a car, I would appreciate the ride very much.” Virgil helps Roman to their feet, leaving them at the door and ducking inside to grab his phone before leading them around the back to his motorbike. Roman’s eyes widen at the sight of the vehicle but takes the offered helmet from the older mans’ hands. 

They pull the helmet over their hair, letting Virgil help with the straps before climbing onto the bike, arms wrapped around Virgil’s waist carefully. 

“You ever been on a bike before?” He twists his head around, catching the slightest of glimpses of Roman’s body through the helmet’s visor. 

“A pushbike yes, motorbike no.” 

“You may wanna hold on tighter.” He laughs, starting the boke and feeling Roman’s hands grasp the fabric over his chest like its life or death. He silences his laugh as he races off down the street, hearing what he assumes are excited screams from his passenger. 

He drives for a bit before crossing the bridge, hearing Roman shout directions over the racing wind and pulling up in front of a cute townhouse with a small white picket fence. Something about it is familiar to the young man, like he’s been there before. 

Virgil climbs off first, shaking out his hair from the helmet before helping Roman off, catching them as their legs fail to work from the adrenaline. He walks the teen up the path, silently wondering what’s so familiar about it when the front door opens and a tall, pyjama-clad man tugs Roman in for a hug. Virgil stops midstep, feet firmly planted on the path, having not yet taken up to the porch. 

“Roman Alex Quinn, I will murder you in cold blood if you disappear like that again.” 

“Careful Logan, You’re emotions are showing.” Roman laughs, cuddling up against the man. 

“Get inside before mum hears you.” Roman nods quickly, spinning to thank Virgil again and vanishing into the house. Logan looks at his brothers ride, eyes squinting before falling onto the man in front of him. 

  
“I knew this place seemed familiar.” Virgil snickers, eyes locked on the man at the door. “Didn’t know you were back in town Logan.” 

“Virgil.” The man breathes, eyes trailing over his old friend. “You’re still around?” 

“They need me.” He answers simply, “Tell the kid to look after the jacket, I have a feeling you'll get it back to me soon.” With a smirk, Virgil walks back to his bike, swinging a leg over and shooting off down the street, not bothering to put on a helmet until he knows Logan can’t see him anymore.


	12. Take The Shield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fictober prompt 3) "Now? Now you listen to me?" or ROman doesn't listen and Logan is there to fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short one today, I'm feeling kinda funky and i have wor tomorrow... yay.
> 
> (https://fictober-event.tumblr.com/post/187649454323/fictober-2019)

Logic was unsurprised when The Prince left HQ without his shield. He was also unsurprised when he came back hours later covered in blood and dirt. 

 

“I think I should’ve taken the shield.” He puffed, hands cradling the torn uniform on his waist as he stumbled through the door. His legs managed to carry him half-way into the room before promptly giving out, his sidekick barely having enough time to catch him before they both ended up on the ground. 

 

**“Now? Now you listen to me?”** Logic sighed, lifting his ‘genius’ friend up onto the table and gathering the first aid supplies. This had become a common occurrence, not the not listening but the returning covered in injuries. The life of a hero was never easy. 

 

“I know, I know. ‘I told you so’, I’ve heard it a hundred times. Just fix me and berate me later, Book Germ.” Logic nodded and began his work, disinfecting and covering the various cuts and scrapes that covered the hero’s skin, smirking each time he grimaced and whined at the pain. 

 

“This is your own fault.” Logic pressed against one cut slightly harder than the others, relishing in The Prince’s flinch. 

 

“Technically, it’s Shadow and Glass Heart’s faults. I’m not the one that threw knives across the room nor am I the one that threw me into a wall.” He pouted, Logic ignoring his words as he packed away teh kit, turning to his partner. The now covered wounds still glared under the harsh lighting of the basement, the computer screens and devices littering the room not helping to soften the look of pain in his eyes. 

 

“Take the fucking shield next time.” Logan surged forward, pressing his lips to Roman’s with a passion the later didn’t realise he held. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit Me Up if you have a prompt or idea you want written, I'm on Tumblr (@ your-anxious-nightmare) and always read the comments on here xx


	13. M&M's and Face Masks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fictober prompt 4) "I know you didn't ask for this" or Virgil has a panic attack and Remy is there to help
> 
> (https://fictober-event.tumblr.com/post/187649454323/fictober-2019)

Virgil had been shaking for forever, curled up in a ball with his hair between his fingers and tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn’t know what caused it, all of a sudden he was on the floor and he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t hear, couldn’t see. He only knew it had been more than an hour because he distantly heard the sound of the neighbour coming home at 5:30 and the last time he remembered seeing a clock it was almost 4. 

 

He’s shaking so hard he doesn’t hear the knock at the door, gasping for air so often he doesn’t notice someone enter the apartment until he feels the burning heat of a hand on his shoulder and the sharp pain as his elbow connects with the wall behind him. 

 

A blur of hands passes in front of his eyes, colours and shapes mixing together and confusing him even more. His eyes squeeze shut and his hands grasp tighter and his breaths come quicker and less breathy. 

 

“-and then he was like ‘no gurl we don’t got that’ and I was all ‘bitch you’re a café of course you got the juice’ but he wouldn’t gimmie the frap so I asked him dumb questions until he got his coworker and _ he _ said they did so I glared at the bitch and he was all ‘sorry I guess’ and walked off and I don’t believe he was actually sorry ya know?” The voice cuts through his thoughts, the loud screaming suddenly silenced by that familiar ‘White Girl’ drawl that never stops for a pause. 

 

“-And like, he was so hot. That ass? Dayum I would tap and I’m ace so like, that’s major attraction right there. He had such a cute accent, like, if his voice was food it would be birthday cake with sprinkles and those cheesy candles, you know the ones, and I’m pretty sure you’re breathing normal again, how ya doin’ gurl? Want a snack?” 

 

Virgil slowly lifts his head, eyes opening to see Remy on the floor next to him with a bowl of M&M’s and a Starbucks straw between his lips. 

 

“I’m sorry.” 

 

“Gurl, what’chu apologising for? You ain’t done nothing wrong bar not eating these candies.” He shakes the bowl a little, a small smile curling his lips as Virgil lets a small laugh escape. 

 

“ **I know you didn’t ask for this**. You shouldn’t have to put up with my crap on top of your own.” He whispers, taking a single blue M&M and toying with it instead of his hair. 

 

“Oh honey, you think I don’t know that? I don’t sit on your uncomfortable floor because I got too, I do it ‘cause I want too. You’ve been my best friend since I stole your juice box in second grade, I’m not gonna leave all those years of chasing you through the playground because you get a little angsty each day. Eat the M&M’s, spill the tea, and we can do face masks and mani-pedi’s while watching the Kardashians and throwing popcorn each time they say ‘like’.” 

 

“Can I throw it at you too?” An indignant noise leaves Remy’s lips as Virgil starts shovelling blue and green M&M’s into his mouth, glad for the distraction. 


	14. Drummer In Circuit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fictober prompts 5) "I might just kiss you.” and 6) "Yes, I’m aware. Your point?” or Band!AU and the keyboard won't work
> 
> (https://fictober-event.tumblr.com/post/187649454323/fictober-2019)

Logan was more than frustrated. Sound-check had gone to plan, everything was working and the stage had been set up perfectly, but now that they were about to go on, Logan’s keyboard had decided to stop. 

 

“It won’t turn on. It just doesn’t make noises.” Roman huffs, pressing all the buttons he can get his fingers on. 

 

“ **Yes, I’m aware. Your point?** ” Logan crosses his arms, glaring at the man that had decided it was necessary to point out the same thing he had been saying for the past 15 minutes. 

 

“Did you plug it in?” Darwin barely has time to think as Logan lunges at the man, nails ready to tear his face up. He quickly steps forward, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist and dragging him back, dodging his elbows as he tries to escape to deck their bandmate. Roman screams, ducking behind Patton and yelling ‘I’m Sorry’ repeatedly as Darwin struggles to hold the taller man. 

 

“Okay buddy, take a seat and we’ll sort it out.” The other two watch as Logan calms, still glaring at Roman from behind his shield. He sits back on the speaker, watching everyone fret around the malfunctioning instrument. 

 

Roman checks the plugs and cords for any breaks, Darwin tests the speakers to make sure they’re actually working and Patton grabs the manual, standing over the keyboard with pursed lips. 

 

Logan gives up his observation, resorting to pulling out his phone and tweeting his dilemma as all good millennials do. 

 

Logical Defence (@nerdywolverine) Tweeted

‘In case we cannot fix the problem, I would like to apologise for the delay in starting tonight's show. I would also like to apologise if Princey has what appears to be claw marks on his face, he asked a stupid question and I am livid.’ 

 

“Got it!” Patton shouts, catching his bandmates attention as he presses a few keys, the familiar notes easing Logan’s nerves. “There was a loose wire inside, must have got knocked out when we moved the set after soundcheck.” He carefully closes the panels, hiding away the wires and circuits that make it work. 

 

“ **I might just kiss you.** ” Logan breathes, Patton blushing lighting and hiding behind his hair. 

 

“It was nothing, anyone could’ve fixed it,” He looks at his hands, folding and unfolding the keyboard manual as Roman and Darwin cheer, the two running off to get the last pieces of their stage clothes sorted and leaving the remaining members on the stage. 

 

“Seriously, Patton, thank you. I do not know what I would do without you.” Logan stands, stepping forward to stand in front of the drummer. 

 

“Crash and burn?” Patton offers, throwing a bobby pin and hitting the cymbals to punctuate his sentence. Logan just sighs and shakes his head, holding his hand out to the man and walking them both off the stage to get their mics.


	15. Sneaking Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fictober prompt 7) “No, and that’s final” or Patton sneaks out to go to a party.
> 
> (https://fictober-event.tumblr.com/post/187649454323/fictober-2019)

“Please, Dad? I’ll do the dishes for a month and I’ll take out the trash and I’ll walk to school and I won’t ask for a puppy again, please let me go?” Patton pleads, following his father through the house as he cleans up. 

 

“ **No, and that’s final.** ” He turns to look at his son, lips drawn into a stern line and eyes hard over his half-circle glasses.

 

“But dad-”

 

“No Patton, you’re not going to that party. You have no idea who or what could be there and I’m not letting you get hurt. You _ will  _ stay home and you will  _ stop _ asking.” Emile huffs, dropping the washing basket on the kitchen table and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Patton, I love you, you know I do, that’s why I can’t let you go. You could have an attack and no one will know how to help. Maybe next year, if things are looking better, you can go. But for now, it’s too dangerous.” 

 

“I get it, dad. I’m sorry for bugging you.” Patton runs up the stairs before his father can stop him, slamming his door and falling onto his bed with a loud sigh. 

 

_ PATstel: sorry v, pops said I cant go _

 

_ Virgie: But it’s the biggest party EVER and we actually got invited this year! We don’t get invited to anything. You have to come!!! _ _   
_ _   
_ __ PATstel: Tell that to dad, he said I'm still too sick

 

_ Virgie:  … _

_ So we sneak you out. _

 

_ PATstel: What? No! _

 

_ Virgie: Yes. Be ready at 9. _

 

Virgil’s right, the Crowne Twins’ Halloween party is the school district’s biggest event and it’s by invitation only, you have to be important to get in. The fact that Virgil, the quiet nerd at the front of the class, and Patton, the sick artist, got invited at all is huge. He can’t pass that up, no matter what his father says. 

 

Patton turns on his radio, blasting his art playlist and starts to gather his things, stuffing medication and supplies into a book bag as he finds his costume. He was going as Peter Pan both because costumes were required and because it was one he already owned after cosplaying him a year prior. 

 

He pinned his hair with bobby pins and wrapped vines through the metal, lining his eyes and drawing leafy patterns along his cheekbones. That was effort enough, with his shaking hands, so he pulls on the outfit and laces his shoes, sitting in the window as he watches the clock tick down. 

 

At exactly 9 pm a small ping hits the window, shocking Patton out of his music-induced stupor. Patton turns to see Virgil standing beneath the big tree, waving excitedly in his vampire outfit. Taking a deep breath, the smaller teen opens the window, throwing his bag into Virgil’s arms and climbing onto the window sill. With a lot of shimmying and a few loud squeaks, he successfully closes the window again and climbs down the old fire escape ladder that really should have been taken down by now. 

 

His feet safely touch the ground again and Virgil hands him his bag, letting him catch his breath before they set off for the Crowne’s house. It was only a five-minute walk for any normal person, but Virgil’s in heels and Patton is sick so it ends up being more like a 20 minutes walk with a two minute stop for Pat to take his meds. 

 

“Okay, we stick together the whole time, no alcohol, no drugs, if it’s too much or you feel an episode we leave immediately,” Virgil instructs, pulling his cape hood down so he can see as they near the house, already accosted by the loud music and yells of various party-goers. 

 

Virgil gives the invitations to the bouncer,  _ there’s a bouncer omg virge _ , and they enter the mansion, both overwhelmed by the bright lights and multitude of bodies. Virgil grabs Patton’s hand and pulls him to where he can see the makeshift bar. 

 

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” Patton mumbles, taking a cup of juice and leaning next to his friend as they scan the crowd for anyone they recognise. Everyone is in costume, from creepy to cute to ‘are you even in clothes?’ and it's incredible to see so much creativity in one place. 

 

“Oh hey, you made it!” A voice shouts from beside Virgil, sending the boy into Patton’s arms in fright. Beside him stands a teen made up to look like a decomposing body, complete with exposed cheekbones and peeling flesh. Remus Crowne, the school’s golden boy, complete with his football jersey and classic smirk. 

 

“Yeah, uh, we did. I love the-the costume.” Virgil stammers, righting himself and brushing imaginary dirt off his blouse. Remus was the one to invite the pair after he and Virgil had been paired up for a history project and found that they actually got along rather well. 

 

“Thanks, man. Oh hey, you gotta check this out. Deck did this sick snake makeup and I think you’d love it.” Before Patton can say anything, Remus grabs Virgil’s hand and drags him away, leaving the teen alone in a crowd of strangers. 

 

The music got louder, the lights got brighter and soon Patton found himself unable to breathe and shaking harder than ever. 

 

Two figures enter the house through the backdoor, both dressed in ripped black denim and studded jackets, both with fixed glares and craving alcohol. They part the crowd as they make their way to the makeshift bar, neither glancing at the various looks they gain from fellow students. 

 

The first, a teen dressed in a blood-red shirt with studded knee-high boots, reaches the bar first, taking a swig of vodka straight from the bottle before handing it to his friend. The second teen, wearing a blue jacket so dark it’s almost black and thick sunglasses takes his own drink before sitting atop the counter, looking around the room and making various comments to the other. 

 

A crash next to them catches their attention, the teen in red pushing past a couple with their tongues in each other's mouths to find a boy curled up on the floor, grasping at his chest and gasping for air. 

 

“Logan!” He shouts, dropping to his knees in front of the boy and trying to get his attention. “Hey, kid, I’m gonna put my hand on your shoulders and sit you up okay?” He waits for what he assumes is a nod of agreement before moving the boy to lean against the bar;’s front. 

 

“Roman, here.” Logan passes an ice cube to the denim-clad teen, who in turn puts it in the boy’s hand and waits for him to snap out of his own mind. 

 

“Hey, we just wanna help. Are you having a panic attack?” Roman asks slowly, locking eyes with him and keeping his hands loose on his shoulders. The boy shakes his head repeatedly, left hand flexing its grasp on his shirt before jerkily letting go to point at his bag which had fallen on the floor next to him. 

 

Logan opens the bag, finding the pile of medication inside and quickly sifting through it all. 

 

“Patton?” The boy nodded, struggling to breathe, “okay, you will need to point at what you require, I do not know what half of these do and I do not want to give you the wrong thing.” 

 

“Wait, Patton? Sinclair?” Roman asks, before looking back to his friend, “he needs the blue one and the inhaler.” Logan obliges hesitantly, watching as Roman takes one of the pills and helps Patton swallow it with a glass of water before helping him with the inhaler, rubbing his shoulder lightly as it kicks in, oxygen finally entering his lungs normally. 

 

“Thank you,” he mumbles, hands finally go of his shirt and dropping into his lap. “How did you know?” 

 

“I’m in your math class. I don’t normally turn up but I was there a couple of months ago when you had an episode and the teacher gave you those. You looked the same as back then so I figured it was the same sort of thing.” He shrugs, helping the boy stand again as Logan gives him his bag. 

 

“You know, you’re pretty nice for a punk.” Patton smiles, looking between the two teens who easily stand at a foot taller than he does. 

 

“Punk is about fucking with the law, not the innocent people it fucked with.” Roman smirks, leaning back against the bar. “And possibly fucking the people by that look, Logan what the fuck?” Patton turns to see Logan staring across the room at Virgil who has now stripped off his cloak and is in a torn blouse and mini-shorts with fishnet tights. 

 

“Apologies, it appears I was distracted for a moment.” he coughs lightly, a blush rising to his cheeks. 

 

“That's my friend Virgil, he got kidnapped by Remus earlier, that's why I was alone. I could introduce you? As a thank you for helping me.” Logan stammers at the offer, unable to refuse as Patton takes his hand, grabbing Roman’s as well and dragging them over to his friend. 


	16. Edge Of Darkness, Edge Of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fictober prompt 8) “Can You Stay?” or Remus gets scared of the dark and his new dad is there to help.
> 
> (https://fictober-event.tumblr.com/post/187649454323/fictober-2019)

The dark was scary. It was unknown and filled with questions. That was what scared him. It wasn’t the lack of visibility, it was the understanding that absolutely anything could happen in front of you and you wouldn’t have a clue. 

That was why he cried. The dark edged closer, clawing at his feet beneath the covers and threatening to pull him into its unwanted embrace. 

So he sobbed. A hand clamped over his mouth to silence the sounds while other holds tight to the blanket pulled up beneath his chin. 

Something danced in the corner of his eye and his head jolted to the side, hand leaving his lips for only a fraction of a second, but long enough for a small shriek to escape. 

“Remus, you okay in there?” A light knock sounded at his door, once again startling the young boy. His head ran over all the possibilities, could it be a monster? A murderer? A clown here to rip out his organs and feed them to the homeless?! 

Another sob wracked his body, this one much louder and stronger than any before. 

“Remus? I’m coming in okay?” The door opens slowly, light streaming into the room and backing the shadows into their rightful corners. “Oh, buddy.” The dark figure steps forward, Remus flinching back as they kneel at his bedside. He pulled the blanket over his head, hiding from their curious eyes and letting the sobs escape freely. 

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s just Patton. I’m going to touch your arm okay?” A gentle weight settled on his limb, soft words spoken into the night to soothe his heart. As the minutes ticked by, Remus felt his heart calm, the cries stopping as his tears finally ceased their effort to drown him. 

Slowly, he crawled out from beneath the blanket shield, curling up in Patton’s lap and letting him play with his ever-messy hair. 

“It’s alright Remus, nothing will hurt you here, not while I’m around to stop it.” The adoptive father cooed, petting his new son and hoping against all odds that he’ll believe him. 

“ **Can you stay?** ” Remus whispered, hands grasping Patton’s pyjama pants in an effort to hold him in place. 

“I can sleep in here, buddy.” 

“No, not that. Will you leave me too?” Remus sat up, legs crossed and eyes wide with fear.

“Absolutely not,” Patton answered without hesitation. “I will never leave you, Remus, no matter what.” Remus nodded, looking down at his hands and avoiding the father’s gaze. “Come on buddy, let’s go to sleep okay? I’ll protect you from the dark.” Patton coached Remus back under the covers, laying down next to him and holding him tight to his chest. 

“I’ll stay, Remus, I promise.”


	17. Lasagna with a side of cleaning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fictober prompt 9) “There is a certain taste to it.” or Remus cooks his boyfriend dinner but something’s not right. 
> 
> (https://fictober-event.tumblr.com/post/187649454323/fictober-2019)

Darwin knew it was a terrible idea to let his boyfriend cook dinner. He knew from experience that it either ended with burnt food, burnt house or burnt Remus. But the look on his face, how could he say no?

“Here you go, your favourite! Lasagna!” Remus placed the plate on the table in front of his boyfriend and sat opposite him. He looked so excited, so hopeful.

“It looks really good Rem.” Darwin wasn’t lying, kinda. It looked like lasagna, smelt like lasagna, but there was something else, something… sharp. 

With a hesitant smile, Darwin took his fork and scooped a small amount up, looking up see Remus watching with those wide eyes he had fallen for. He smiled back, placing the food into his mouth and chewing slowly. 

“So? Is it good?” Remus asked, scooping his own into his mouth and pausing before he swallowed, forehead creasing in confusion, 

“ **There is… a certain taste to it**.” Darwin swallowed, feeling like there was a lump of coal forcing itself down his throat. 

“But I followed the recipe exactly! I was careful this time!” Tears brimmed in his eyes as he poked at the food, frustration clear across his face. 

“Baby, no, it’s not bad! It’s pretty good actually!” Darwin tried to calm him by taking another bite, but the sharp tang had him gagging in seconds. 

“Normally I like that sound,” Remus mumbled, smiling lightly as Darwin coughed around the mouthful, cheeks reddening at the innuendo. “You can spit it out Dee, it’s okay.” Darwin looked back with sorry eyes before bolting out of the chair to spit into the sink. 

“Ah, Remus? Did you clean the dish before you made this?” His voice called from the kitchen Remus humming in agreement as he picks up the failed food. “I think I found the problem.” He entered the room to see Deceit holding the bottle of cleaner that he had used to do the kitchen earlier. 

“Oh. I didn’t rinse it enough did I?” Darwin shook his head sadly, taking the dishes from his hands and placing them on the bench before wrapping his arms around Remus’s waist. 

“It’s okay babe, we’ll go get new dishwashing liquid and you can try again tomorrow, yeah? You did so well this time.” Darwin curled up against his boyfriend, knowing he had the best of intentions despite his almost killing both of them. 

“I’ll order pizza.”


	18. I love you Starlight.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fictober prompt 10) “ Listen, I can’t explain it, you’ll have to trust me.” or Remus is making Logan a gift. 
> 
> (https://fictober-event.tumblr.com/post/187649454323/fictober-2019)

****The house was a mess. That was Logan’s first thought as he stepped into the apartment.

There were pens and pencils scattered across the living room floor, paper scraps covering the table and couch, glitter everywhere. 

And then there was Remus, seated in front of the table with his arms holding something behind his back and art supplies covering every inch of his skin. From paint on his arms and face to glitter and felt in his hair, the young man was a mess. 

“Remus, what on Earth happened here?” Logan steps forward, placing his bag on the kitchen table and squinting as his boyfriend stands and steps around him, arms still clasped behind his back. 

“Um, alien invasion?” Logan gives him a deadpan look, asking what’s behind his back. “ **Listen, I can’t explain it, you’ll have to trust me.** ” Remus runs off to the spare room, leaving Logan amidst his mess with confusion and a slight hint of fear in his eyes. 

Believing his boyfriend wasn’t causing too much trouble, Logan shakes his head and begins cleaning, smiling when his boyfriend returns and wraps his arms around his waist, resting his head against the back of Logan’s. 

“Tomorrow night I’ll make dinner okay?” Logan hums in agreement, spinning around to drape his own arms over Remus’s shoulders, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips. 

When the next night rolled around, Logan was more than a little anxious. Remus was a good cook, he’d never screwed up too badly, but he had a habit of burning things or experimenting with weird flavours. 

So when he placed a steak in front of the bespectacled man, the first question out of his mouth was “did you really cook this?” 

“Of course I did. I followed your mum’s recipe and marinated it and everything.” 

“It looks incredible, Remus.” The brown-eyed man smiles proudly and the two dig in, Logan unable to suppress his moan as the familiar flavours coat his tongue. 

“Save those noises for later love, you haven’t seen your gift yet.” Logan couldn’t decide whether to blush, look away or laugh, so the snort that followed was completely unplanned. 

“Gift?” He asks, having unsuccessfully hidden his blush with his last mouthful of salad. Remus just hums before standing and racing off to the other room, returning with a small box about the size of his hand. Logan looks at him apprehensively, reminded of the many times he’d opened a box to find a bug. He quickly puts the dishes into the washer, taking a seat next to Remus on the couch and looking at him curiously. 

“So, I know we’ve talked about it a lot, and I know we decided we weren’t ready for the big thing nor did we want it but I wanted to do this because you mean a lot to me. You stuck with me even when I was weird or gross when everyone turned away you smiled and said I was worth it. I want to show everyone how I think you’re the best thing ever and I really hope you like this.” Remus hands over the box, avoiding Logan’s eyes. 

Carefully, Logan opens the lid, a gasp leaving his lips at the sight of his gift. Inside, on a plush cushion, sits a necklace. The pendant is a shell the size of a large button, much like the ones they collected on their first date, filled with resin and star-shaped glitter. Hooked around the cord is a ring, designed so the blue stones make the shape of a planet, with a line of yellow stones to create the rings like Saturn. 

“Remus, I love it.” Logan breathes, pulling it out and draping the cord around his neck, tightening the knots so it sits just below his clavicle. “Is this your way of asking..” Logan trails off, looking up to see Remus with hopeful eyes. 

“If you want, I would like to be your fiancé.” He whispers, hand reaching out to grasp Logans softly. 

“I would love that Remus.” He leans forward, pressing a kiss to his boyfr-fiancé’s lips. “I love you, Starlight. 

“I love you, Sunshine.”


	19. Lasagna with a side of Love. (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The continuation of "Lasagna with a side of cleaning" and fluffy AF
> 
> TW: Mentions of death a few times

Remus was terrified. 

 

Darwin had gone out that morning and collected replacement ingredients for lasagna and they had washed all the dishes again with proper liquid soap. 

 

Now, after shooing his boyfriend from the kitchen and spending a good two hours in tears because he couldn’t make sense of the instructions, Remus was ready to pull the dish out. 

  
The first time he’d made lasagna ha had forgotten the oven mitts and burned his hands, breaking the dish over the floor and cutting his feet on the shattered porcelain. The second time, he forgot it was in the oven and set fire to the appliance, almost burning down their kitchen. The third time, he got it out safely and was dishing it when he cut his finger open on the knife he was using to separate the servings. And finally, the fourth time, the time where he didn’t rinse the bleach out of the dish and could have poisoned both himself and Darwin. 

 

He really did try to get things right! It was Darwin’s favourite dish and they’d had it on their first date so he wanted to make it again as a thank you for sticking around. He had printed the recipe and decorated it with notes to remember, everything was set, except for his ability to actually cook. 

 

Taking a deep breath, Remus pulls on the mitts, checking that his feet are covered before turning off the oven and pulling open the door. Nothing is on fire, and it looks the right colour, so he pulls it out, placing it on the rack to cool and closing the door. 

 

After allowing it to cool a bit, he takes a knife and positions it away from his body, carefully cutting two squares out of the dish and dropping the blade into the sink. With a skip and a smile, he cheers at his success, laughing hysterically as he watches the steam evaporate into the kitchen air. 

 

Slowly, Remus puts the two square onto a plate alongside microwaved garlic bread (that one he perfected long ago and the pair loved it), placing a set of cutlery onto the plates and carefully carrying them into the living room. 

 

Darwin sits at the table patiently, face illuminated by candles he’d lit to make the room cosier. He smiles at the man as the plate is set in front of him, assuring him with kind words as he sits across the table, shakily taking a drink of water before picking up his fork. 

 

“Remus, calm down, it’ll be great okay?” Darwin offers, picking up a small amount and placing it in his mouth, fear glinting beneath the candlelight. Remus doesn’t follow, too scared it’ll kill them both but not scared enough to make sure they’ll die together.

 

“Oh my gosh.” He looks up quickly, fear covering his face as he locks his eyes on his boyfriend. “Remus this is amazing!” Darwin smiles brightly. 

 

“Really? You’re not just saying that?” He asks slowly, taking a forkful and holding it in front of his mouth, only taking a bite as Darwin has another. 

 

“Wait, it’s actually not bad?” Remus takes another bite, overwhelmed by the possibility of having actually made an okay meal. 

 

“Not bad? Rem, it tastes just like at the restaurant we went to on our first date! You did it love!” Within moments, the whole dish is finished on both plates, both men ecstatic with the success of the night. 

 

Remus was happier than ever before, having finally succeeded in cooking for his boyfriend and not destroying something in the process had made his heart swell. Darwin, too, was elated. Remus hadn’t smiled as much as he did that night in a long time and to see that smile again was amazing. It was safe to say the rest of the night was eventful too, if you know what I mean ;)


	20. A Tragedy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based on real-life events (obvi not all of it because I am forever alone and cried to myself), Virgil’s favourite disc is scratched and he has to go get a new one.

“HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? I TRUSTED YOU!” Virgil’s voice echoes through the apartment, sending waves of worry through Patton’s body. Was Virgil hurt? Did something break? Did Roman do something? 

Putting down the tea towel and plate, he carefully steps towards the living room, looking around the wall to see Virgil on his knees in front of the tv. His head was in his hands, shoulders hunched so he looked like a little ball of darkness. 

“Virge? You okay?” 

“No.” He wailed, throwing his head back so he laid on the ground, staring up at Patton with teary eyes. 

“Oh, bud, what’s wrong?” Patton stepped in quickly, pulling Virgil into his arms and holding him tight as he cries into his shoulder. 

“It-It-” Virgil mumbled through his sobs, crying harder as a small noise echoes from the tv before the room falls silent again. “IT’S SCRATCHED!” He screamed, Patton flinched from the loud noise and looked between the tv and the crying man in his arms. 

“The DVD?” Virgil only nodded, grasping at Patton’s shirt as he cried harder. Stifling his laugh, Patton ran his hand through Virgil’s hair, smiling lightly as Logan stepped into the room. “It’s okay, hun, we can get you a new one.” He mouthed to Logan about the disc, gaining a small smile in response as the man pulled on his shoes and took his keys from the bowl by the door. 

“Indeed, Virgil. Let’s go down to the store now and we can collect you some snacks as well. I understand that the poor nutritional value will help you find comfort in this loss.” 

“What if they don’t have it? What if we go there and there are none left on the shelf? What if this is the last DVD of ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ EVER AND IT’S SCRATCHED!?” Virgil continued to cry, not at all soothed by Patton’s petting nor his kind words. 

“The chances of that happening are very slim Virgil. ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ is a very popular film, especially at this time of year and Disney loves to make money so it is highly unlikely that they would stop making them. Even if they did, you know Roman is more than capable of pirating one for you.” Logan reasoned, waiting for Virgil’s cries to settle before holding out a hand. “To the store then?” 

Virgil nodded, standing from Patton’s lap and taking Logan’s hand, letting him lead him to the car through his sniffles as Patton locked up the apartment before following. 

The trip to the store was relatively silent, Patton and Logan talking quietly while Virgil stared dramatically out the window, mourning the loss of his favourite DVD. They arrived with ten minutes to spare before the store closed, hurrying inside and allowing Logan to lead them all to the DVD section. Virgil’s eyes scanned the rack, worry filling them as each title continued to read the wrong name. 

“THERE IT IS!” HE shouted, darting forward from under Patton's arm to pull it out, turning it excitedly to show Logan. “AND IT’S ON SPECIAL!” He didn’t wait for a second longer, running towards the counter with a smile covering his tear-stained face. 

“Sometimes I wonder if he is a 4-year-old stuck in a 24-year-olds body.” Logan sighed, grasping Patton's hand and following after their friend. 

“Let him have his fun Lo-Lo, it is his month after all.” By the time the couple reached the counter, Virgil had already purchased the disc and was sitting on the counter next to the cashier excitedly discussing the logistics of Halloween Town actually existing. 

“Virgil, please get off the counter, we need to leave so Roman can close the shop.” Virgil agreed begrudgingly, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek before jumping down and following them out of the store. 

“Hurry up, Princey, we gotta go find snacks and binge some Disney.” 

“Will do, My Pumpkin King.”


End file.
